Absorbent Articles With Channels

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent article comprising a liquid management system (LMS) and an absorbent core disposed at least partially intermediate a topsheet and a backsheet. The LMS defines one or more channels therein. The one or more channels of the LMS may at least partially overlap or not overlap with channels defined in the absorbent core.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/870,391, filed on Aug. 27,2013, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure is generally directed to absorbent articles forpersonal hygiene. The absorbent articles may each comprise channels.

BACKGROUND

Absorbent articles for personal hygiene are designed to absorb andcontain body exudates. These absorbent articles may comprise severallayers providing different functions, for example, a topsheet, abacksheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and thebacksheet, among other layers.

The function of the absorbent core is to absorb and retain the bodilyexudates for a prolonged amount of time, for example, overnight for adiaper, minimize re-wet to keep the wearer dry, and avoid soiling ofclothes or bed sheets. Some currently marketed absorbent articlescomprise an absorbent material which is a blend of comminuted wood pulp(i.e., airfelt) with superabsorbent polymers (SAP) in particulate form,also called absorbent gelling materials (AGM). Absorbent articles havinga core consisting essentially of SAP as the absorbent material (socalled “airfelt-free” cores) have also been proposed but are less commonthan traditional mixed cores.

Absorbent articles may also comprise an acquisition layer or system. Onefunction of such a layer or system is to quickly acquire liquids orother bodily exudates and distribute them to the absorbent core in anefficient manner. The acquisition layer or system may comprise one ormore layers which may form a unitary layer or may remain as discretelayers. The layers may be attached to each other and may be disposedbetween the absorbent core and the topsheet. Some absorbent articles maytypically comprise leg cuffs which provide improved containment ofliquids and other body exudates. Leg cuffs may also be referred to asleg bands, side flaps, barrier cuffs, or elastic cuffs. Usually, eachleg cuff comprises one or more elastic strands or elements comprised inthe chassis of the diaper, for example, between the topsheet andbacksheet in the area of the leg openings to provide an effective sealwhile the absorbent article is in use. These elasticized elements whichmay be substantially planar with the chassis of the absorbent articlewill be referred to herein as gasketing cuffs. It is also usual for theleg cuffs to comprise raised elasticized flaps, herein referred to asbarrier leg cuffs, which improve the containment of fluid in theleg-torso joint regions.

Absorbent articles generally have a high absorbent capacity and theabsorbent core may expand several times its weight and volume. Theseincreases may cause the absorbent articles to sag in the crotch regionas they become saturated with liquid, which may cause the barrier legcuffs to partially lose contact with the wearer's skin. This may lead toa loss of functionality of the barrier leg cuffs, with the increasedpossibly of leakage. As the absorbent core expands with other bodilyexudates, the acquisition layer or system may undesirably detach orotherwise separate from the absorbent core. Additionally, some absorbentarticles are not designed to effectively handle both urine and feces ina single product. Accordingly, performance of the absorbent articles canbe undesirable and wearing such absorbent articles can be uncomfortable.

Although various solutions to this problem have been proposed, the fieldcan benefit from additional channel and/or pocket configurations thatimprove urine and feces management and leakage prevention in absorbentarticles and improved comfort for the wearer.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlethat comprises a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material. Theabsorbent material comprises at least 85% of superabsorbent polymers byweight of the absorbent material. The absorbent core defines a firstchannel substantially free of the superabsorbent polymers and the firstchannel extends substantially through the thickness of the absorbentmaterial. The absorbent article comprises a liquid management systempositioned at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable materialand the absorbent core. The liquid management system is substantiallyfree of any superabsorbent polymers defines a second channel. The secondchannel extends substantially though the thickness of the liquidmanagement system.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material. Theabsorbent material comprises at least 85% of superabsorbent polymers byweight of the absorbent material. The absorbent core defines a firstchannel substantially free of the superabsorbent polymers and the firstchannel extends substantially through the thickness of the absorbentmaterial. The absorbent article comprises a liquid management systemcomprising a first layer and a second layer. The first layer ispositioned at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable materialand the second layer and the second layer is positioned at leastpartially intermediate the first layer and the absorbent core. The firstlayer or the second layer defines a second channel. The liquidmanagement system is substantially free of any superabsorbent polymers.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material, a liquid impermeable materialand an absorbent core disposed at least partially intermediate theliquid permeable material and the liquid impermeable material andcomprising an absorbent material. The absorbent material comprisessuperabsorbent polymers. The absorbent article comprises a liquidmanagement system positioned at least partially intermediate the liquidpermeable material and the absorbent core. The liquid management systemis substantially free of any superabsorbent polymers and comprisescross-linked cellulosic fibers. The liquid management system defines achannel.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material. Theabsorbent material comprises at least 85% of superabsorbent polymers byweight of the absorbent material and the absorbent core defines a firstchannel substantially free of the superabsorbent polymers. The absorbentarticle comprises a liquid management system positioned at leastpartially intermediate the liquid permeable material and the absorbentcore. The liquid management system is free of any superabsorbentpolymer. The liquid management system defines a second channel definedtherein and a portion of the liquid permeable material is recessed intothe second channel.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material. Theabsorbent material comprises at least 85% of superabsorbent polymers byweight of the absorbent material and the absorbent core defines a firstchannel substantially free of the superabsorbent polymers. The absorbentarticle comprises a first material positioned at least partiallyintermediate the liquid permeable material and the absorbent core. Thefirst material is substantially free of superabsorbent polymers. Theabsorbent article comprises a second material positioned intermediatethe first material and the absorbent core. The second material issubstantially free of any superabsorbent polymers defines a secondchannel. A portion of the first material is recessed into the secondchannel.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material. Theabsorbent article comprises a substantially laterally-extendingseparation element at least partially defining a visual front portionand a visual back portion of the absorbent article. The absorbentarticle comprises a liquid management system positioned at leastpartially intermediate the liquid permeable material and the absorbentcore. The liquid management system defines a channel formed thereinhaving a physical property. The channel has a first physical propertyvalue in the visual front portion and a second physical property valuein the visual back portion. The first physical property value of a frontportion of the channel is different than the second physical propertyvalue of a back portion of the channel.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material and asubstantially laterally-extending separation element at least partiallyvisually defining a front portion and a back portion of the absorbentarticle. The absorbent article comprises a liquid management systempositioned at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable materialand the absorbent core, wherein the liquid management system defines achannel. The channel is positioned in the front portion or the backportion.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to an absorbent articlecomprising a liquid permeable material and a liquid impermeablematerial. The absorbent article comprises an absorbent core disposed atleast partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and theliquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material. Theabsorbent core defines a first channel substantially free of theabsorbent material and the first channel extends substantially throughthe thickness of the absorbent material. The absorbent article comprisesa substantially laterally-extending separation element at leastpartially defining a visual front portion and a visual back portion ofthe absorbent article. The absorbent article comprises a liquidmanagement system positioned at least partially intermediate the liquidpermeable material and the absorbent core. The liquid management systemcomprises a second channel formed therein and overlaps at least aportion of the first channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of the presentdisclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of non-limiting embodiments of the disclosuretaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an absorbent article with some layers partiallyremoved in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent article taken aboutline 2-2 of FIG. 1 in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view of the absorbent article of FIG. 2 where the absorbentarticle has been loaded with fluid in accordance with a non-limitingembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a top view of another absorbent article with some layerspartially removed in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent article taken aboutline 5-5 of FIG. 4 in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a top view of an absorbent core of the absorbent article ofFIG. 4 with some layers partially removed in accordance with anon-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent core taken about line7-7 of FIG. 6 in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent core taken about line8-8 of FIG. 6 in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a top view of a liquid management system of the absorbentarticle of FIG. 4 with some layers partially removed in accordance witha non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid management system takenabout line 10-10 of FIG. 9 in accordance with a non-limiting embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIGS. 11-26 are partial cross-sectional views of absorbent articlescomprising channels in a liquid management system in accordance withvarious non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 27-34 are partial cross-sectional views of absorbent articlescomprising a structural separator and channels in a liquid managementsystem in accordance with various non-limiting embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 35-40 are top views of absorbent articles in comprising channelsin a liquid management system in accordance with various non-limitingembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 41 is a top view of an absorbent article that is a sanitary napkinwith some of the layers cut away in accordance with a non-limitingembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed to provide an overall understanding of the principles of thestructure, function, manufacture, and use of the absorbent articles withchannels and methods for making the same disclosed herein. One or moreexamples of these non-limiting embodiments are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the absorbent articles with channels and methods formaking the same described herein and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings are non-limiting example embodiments and that the scope of thevarious non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure are definedsolely by the claims. The features illustrated or described inconnection with one non-limiting embodiment may be combined with thefeatures of other non-limiting embodiments. Such modifications andvariations are intended to be included within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

INTRODUCTION

The term “absorbent article, as used herein, refers to disposabledevices such as infant, child, or adult diapers, pant-style diapers,training pants, sanitary napkins, diaper inserts, and the like which areplaced against or in proximity to the body of the wearer to absorb andcontain the various exudates discharged from the body. Typically, thesearticles comprise a topsheet, backsheet, an absorbent core, anacquisition system (which may be referred to as a liquid managementsystem and may be comprised of one or several layers) and typicallyother components, with the absorbent core normally placed at leastpartially between the backsheet and the acquisition system or betweenthe topsheet and the backsheet. The absorbent articles of the presentdisclosure will be further illustrated in the below description and inthe Figures in the form of a taped diaper. Nothing in this descriptionshould be, however, considered limiting the scope of the claims. As suchthe present disclosure applies to any suitable form of absorbentarticles (e.g., training pants, adult incontinence products, sanitarynapkins).

The term “nonwoven web”, as used herein, means a manufactured sheet,web, or batt of directionally or randomly orientated fibers, bonded byfriction, and/or cohesion, and/or adhesion, excluding paper and productswhich are woven, knitted, tufted, stitch-bonded incorporating bindingyarns or filaments, or felted by wet-milling, whether or notadditionally needled. The fibers may be of natural or man-made originand may be staple or continuous filaments or be formed in situ.Commercially available fibers may have diameters ranging from less thanabout 0.001 mm to more than about 0.2 mm and may come in severaldifferent forms such as short fibers (known as staple, or chopped),continuous single fibers (filaments or monofilaments), untwisted bundlesof continuous filaments (tow), and twisted bundles of continuousfilaments (yam). Nonwoven webs can be formed by many processes such asmeltblowing, spunbonding, solvent spinning, electrospinning, carding,and airlaying. The basis weight of nonwoven webs is usually expressed ingrams per square meter (g/m² or gsm).

The term “joined” or “bonded” or “attached”, as used herein, encompassesconfigurations whereby an element is directly secured to another elementby affixing the element directly to the other element, andconfigurations whereby an element is indirectly secured to anotherelement by affixing the element to intermediate member(s) which in turnare affixed to the other element.

The term “channel”, as used herein, is a region or zone in a materiallayer that has a substantially lower basis weight (e.g., less than 50%,less than 70%, less than 90%) than the surrounding material in thematerial layer. The channel may be a region in a material layer that issubstantially material-free (e.g., 90% material-free, 95% material-free,or 99% material-free, or completely material-free). A channel may extendthrough one or more material layers. The channels generally have a lowerbending modulus than the surrounding regions of the material layer,enabling the material layer to bend more easily and/or contain morebodily exudates within the channels than in the surrounding areas of thematerial layer. Thus, a channel is not merely an indentation in thematerial layer that does not create a reduced basis weight in thematerial layer in the area of the channel.

General Description of the Absorbent Article

An example absorbent article 20 according to the present disclosure,shown in the form of an infant diaper, is represented in FIGS. 1-3. FIG.1 is a plan view of the example diaper, in a flat-out state, withportions of the structure being cut-away to more clearly show theconstruction of the diaper. This diaper is shown for illustrationpurpose only as the present disclosure may be used for making a widevariety of diapers or other absorbent articles.

The absorbent article may comprise a liquid permeable topsheet 24, aliquid impermeable backsheet 25, an absorbent core 28 positioned atleast partially intermediate the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25, andbarrier leg cuffs 34. The absorbent article may also comprise a liquidmanagement system (“LMS”) 50 (shown in FIG. 2), which in the examplerepresented comprises a distribution layer 54 and an acquisition layer52, which will be further detailed below. In various embodiments, theacquisition layer 52 may instead distribute bodily exudates and thedistribution layer 54 may instead acquire bodily exudates or both layersmay distribute and/or acquire bodily exudates. The LMS 50 may also beprovided as a single layer or two or more layers. The absorbent articlemay also comprise elasticized gasketing cuffs 32 joined to the chassisof the absorbent article, typically via the topsheet and/or backsheet,and substantially planar with the chassis of the diaper.

The Figures also show typical taped diaper components such as afastening system comprising adhesive tabs 42 or other mechanicalfasteners attached towards the rear edge of the absorbent article 20 andcooperating with a landing zone 44 on the front of the absorbent article20. The absorbent article may also comprise other typical elements,which are not represented, such as a rear elastic waist feature, a frontelastic waist feature, transverse barrier cuff(s), and/or a lotionapplication, for example.

The absorbent article 20 may comprise a front waist edge 10, a rearwaist edge 12 longitudinally opposing the front waist edge 10, a firstside edge 3, and a second side edge 4 laterally opposing the first sideedge 3. The front waist edge 10 is the edge of the absorbent article 20which is intended to be placed towards the front of the user when worn,and the rear waist edge 12 is the opposite edge. The absorbent articlemay have a longitudinal axis 80 extending from the lateral midpoint ofthe front waist edge 10 to a lateral midpoint of the rear waist edge 12of the absorbent article 20 and dividing the absorbent article 20 in twosubstantially symmetrical halves relative to the longitudinal axis 80,with article placed flat and viewed from above as in FIG. 1. Theabsorbent article may also have a lateral axis 90 extending from thelongitudinal midpoint of the first side edge 3 to the longitudinalmidpoint of the second side edge 4. The length L of the absorbentarticle 20 may be measured along the longitudinal axis 80 from the frontwaist edge 10 to the rear waist edge 12. The crotch width of theabsorbent article 20 may be measured along the lateral axis 90 from thefirst side edge 3 to the second side edge 4. The absorbent article 20may comprise a crotch point C defined herein as the point placed on thelongitudinal axis at a distance of two fifth (⅖) of L starting from thefront edge 10 of the absorbent article 20. The absorbent article 20 maycomprise a front waist region 5, a rear waist region 6, and a crotchregion 7. The front waist region, the rear waist region, and the crotchregion each define ⅓ of the longitudinal length of the absorbentarticle.

The topsheet 24, the backsheet 25, the absorbent core 28, and the otherarticle components may be assembled in a variety of configurations, inparticular by gluing or heat embossing, for example. Example diaperconfigurations are described generally in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003, U.S.Pat. No. 5,221,274, U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,145, U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,234,U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,411, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,306. The absorbentarticle may be thin. The caliper at the crotch point C or in the crotchregion 7 of the absorbent article 20 may be, for example, from 4.0 mm to12.0 mm or alternatively from 6.0 mm to 10.0 mm.

The absorbent core 28 may comprise an absorbent material comprising 75%to 100%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or atleast 99% all by weight of the absorbent material, specifically recitingall 0.1% increments within the above-specified ranges and all rangesformed therein or thereby, and a core wrap enclosing the absorbentmaterial. The core wrap may typically comprise two materials,substrates, or nonwoven materials 16 and 16′ for the top side and bottomside of the core.

The core may comprises one or more channels, represented in FIG. 1 asthe four channels 26, 26′ and 27, 27′. Additionally or alternative, theLMS 50 may comprises one or more channels, represented in FIGS. 1-3 aschannels 49, 49′. In some embodiments, the channels of the LMS 50 may bepositioned within the absorbent article 20 such they aligned with,substantially aligned with, overlap, or at least partially overlap, thechannels of the absorbent core 28. These and other components of theabsorbent articles will now be discussed in more details.

Topsheet

The topsheet 24 is the part of the absorbent article that is directly incontact with the wearer's skin. The topsheet 24 may be joined to thebacksheet 25, the core 28 and/or any other layers as is known to thoseof skill in the art. Usually, the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25 arejoined directly to each other in some locations (e.g., on or close tothe periphery of the article) and are indirectly joined together inother locations by directly joining them to one or more other elementsof the absorbent article 20.

The topsheet 24 may be compliant, soft-feeling, and non-irritating tothe wearer's skin. Further, at least a portion of the topsheet 24 may beliquid permeable, permitting liquids to readily penetrate through itsthickness. A suitable topsheet may be manufactured from a wide range ofmaterials, such as porous foams, reticulated foams, apertured plasticfilms, or woven or nonwoven materials of natural fibers (e.g., wood orcotton fibers), synthetic fibers or filaments (e.g., polyester orpolypropylene or bicomponent PE/PP fibers or mixtures thereof), or acombination of natural and synthetic fibers. If the topsheet 24 includesfibers, the fibers may be spunbond, carded, wet-laid, meltblown,hydroentangled, or otherwise processed as is known in the art, inparticular spunbond PP nonwoven. Example topsheets comprising a web ofstaple-length polypropylene fibers are manufactured by Veratec, Inc., aDivision of International Paper Company, of Walpole, Mass. under thedesignations P-8, P-9, P-10, or P-11. Other example topsheet aremanufactured by Polymer Group Inc. under material trade names W5030ONG,W5030TP, and W5030TO.

Any portion of the topsheet 24 may be coated with a skin carecomposition, antibacterial agent, or other beneficial agents as isgenerally known in the art. Further, the topsheet 24, the backsheet 25or any portion of the topsheet or backsheet may be embossed and/or mattefinished to provide a more cloth like appearance.

The topsheet 24 may comprise one or more apertures to ease penetrationof exudates therethrough, such as urine and/or feces (solid, semi-solid,or liquid). Typical absorbent article topsheets have a basis weight offrom about 5 gsm to about 30 gsm, from about 10 to about 21 gsm or fromabout 12 to about 18 gsm, but other basis weights are within the scopeof the present disclosure.

Backsheet

The backsheet 25 is generally that portion of the absorbent article 20positioned adjacent the garment-facing surface of the absorbent core 28and which prevents, or at least inhibits, the exudates absorbed andcontained therein from soiling articles such as bedsheets andundergarments. The backsheet 25 is typically impermeable, or at leastsubstantially impermeable, to liquids (e.g., urine). The backsheet may,for example, be or comprise a thin plastic film such as a thermoplasticfilm having a thickness of about 0.012 mm to about 0.051 mm. Examplebacksheet films include those manufactured by Tredegar Corporation,based in Richmond, Va., and sold under the trade name CPC2 film. Othersuitable backsheet materials may include breathable materials whichpermit vapors to escape from the absorbent article 20 while stillpreventing, or at least inhibiting, exudates from passing through thebacksheet 25. Example breathable materials may include materials such aswoven webs, nonwoven webs, composite materials such as film-coatednonwoven webs, microporous films such as manufactured by Mitsui ToatsuCo., of Japan under the designation ESPOIR NO and by TredegarCorporation of Richmond, Va., and sold under the designation EXAIRE, andmonolithic films such as manufactured by Clopay Corporation, Cincinnati,Ohio under the name HYTREL blend P18-3097.

The backsheet 25 may be joined to the topsheet 24, the absorbent core28, and/or any other element of the absorbent article 20 by anyattachment methods known to those of skill in the art. Suitableattachment methods are described above with respect to methods forjoining the topsheet 24 to other elements of the absorbent article 20.For example, the attachment methods may include using a uniformcontinuous layer of adhesive, a patterned layer of adhesive, or an arrayof separate lines, spirals, or spots of adhesive. Suitable attachmentmethods comprising an open pattern network of filaments of adhesive isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,986. Other suitable attachment methodsinclude using several lines of adhesive filaments which are swirled intoa spiral pattern, as is illustrated by the apparatus and methods shownin U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,173, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,996, and U.S. Pat. No.4,842,666. Adhesives which have been found to be satisfactory aremanufactured by H. B. Fuller Company of St. Paul, Minn. and marketed asHL-1620 and HL 1358-XZP. Alternatively, the attachment methods maycomprise using heat bonds, pressure bonds, ultrasonic bonds, dynamicmechanical bonds, or any other suitable attachment methods orcombinations of these attachment methods as are known to those of skillin the art.

Absorbent Core

As used herein, the term “absorbent core” refers to the individualcomponent of the absorbent article having the most absorbent capacityand may comprise an absorbent material. In some embodiments, theabsorbent core comprises a core wrap enclosing the absorbent material.The term “absorbent core” does not include the liquid management systemor any other component of the absorbent article which is not eitherintegral part of the core wrap or placed within the core wrap. Theabsorbent core may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of, acore wrap, absorbent material as defined below, and glue enclosed withinthe core wrap. The absorbent core periphery, which may be the peripheryof the core wrap, may define any suitable shape, such as a “T,” “Y,”“hour-glass,” or “dog-bone” shape, for example. An absorbent coreperiphery having a generally “dog bone” or “hour-glass” shape may taperalong its width towards the middle or “crotch” region of the core. Inthis way, the absorbent core may have a relatively narrow width in anarea of the absorbent core intended to be placed in the crotch region ofan absorbent article.

The absorbent core 28 of the present disclosure may comprise anabsorbent material with a high amount of superabsorbent polymers (hereinabbreviated as “SAP”) enclosed within a core wrap. The SAP content mayrepresent 70% to 100% or at least 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 99%, or100% by weight of the absorbent material contained in the core wrap. Thecore wrap is not considered as absorbent material for the purpose ofassessing the percentage of SAP in the absorbent core.

“Absorbent material” means a material which has some absorbency propertyor liquid retaining properties, such as SAP, cellulosic fibers as wellas synthetic fibers. Typically, glues used in making absorbent coreshave no absorbency properties and are not considered as absorbentmaterial. The SAP content may be higher than 80%, for example at least85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 99%, and even up to andincluding 100% of the weight of the absorbent material contained withinthe core wrap, as stated above. This provides a relatively thin corecompared to conventional cores typically comprising between 40-60% SAP,for example, and high content of cellulose fibers. The absorbentmaterial may comprise less than 15% or less than 10% weight percent ofnatural or synthetic fibers, less than 5% weight percent, less than 3%weight percent, less than 2% weight percent, less than 1% weightpercent, or may even be substantially free of, or free of, naturaland/or synthetic fibers, specifically reciting all 0.1% incrementswithin the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby.The absorbent material may advantageously comprise little or no airfelt(cellulose) fibers, in particular the absorbent core may comprise lessthan 15%, 10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1% airfelt (cellulose) fibers by weight, ormay even be substantially free of, or free of, cellulose fibers,specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the specified rangesand all ranges formed therein or thereby.

The example absorbent core 28 of the absorbent article of FIGS. 4 and 5is shown in isolation in FIGS. 6-8. The absorbent core 28 may comprisesa front side 280, a rear side 282, and two longitudinal sides 284, 286joining the front side 280 and the rear side 282. The absorbent core mayalso comprise a generally planar top side and a generally planar bottomside. The front side 280 of the core 28 is the side of the core 28intended to be placed towards the front waist edge 10 of the absorbentarticle. The core 28 may have a longitudinal axis 80′ correspondingsubstantially to the longitudinal axis 80 of the absorbent article, asseen from the top in a planar view as in FIG. 1. In an embodiment, theabsorbent material may be distributed in higher amount towards the frontside than towards the rear side as more absorbency may be required atthe front in particular articles. In another embodiment, the absorbentmaterial may have a non-uniform basis weight or a uniform basis weightacross any portion of the core. In an embodiment, the front and rearsides of the core may be shorter than the longitudinal sides of thecore. The core wrap may be formed by two nonwoven materials, substrates,laminates, or other materials, 16, 16′ which may be at least partiallysealed along the sides of the absorbent core. The core wrap may be atleast partially sealed along its front side 280, rear side 282, and twolongitudinal sides 284, 286 so that substantially no absorbent materialleaks out of the absorbent core wrap. The first material, substrate, ornonwoven 16 may at least partially surround the second material,substrate, or nonwoven 16′ to form the core wrap, as illustrated in FIG.7. The first material 16 may surround a portion of the second material16′ proximate to the first and second side edges 284 and 286.

The absorbent core of the present disclosure may comprise adhesive, forexample, to help immobilizing the SAP within the core wrap and/or toensure integrity of the core wrap, in particular when the core wrap ismade of two or more substrates. The core wrap may extend to a largerarea than strictly needed for containing the absorbent material within.

Cores comprising relatively high amount of SAP with various core designsare disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,335 (Goldman), EP 1,447,066(Busam), WO 95/11652 (Tanzer), U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2008/0312622A1(Hundorf), and WO 2012/052172 (Van Malderen).

The absorbent material may be one or more continuous layers presentwithin the core wrap. In other embodiments, the absorbent material maybe comprised of individual pockets or stripes of absorbent materialenclosed within the core wrap. In the first case, the absorbent materialmay be, for example, obtained by the application of a single continuouslayer of absorbent material. The continuous layer of absorbent material,in particular of SAP, may also be obtained by combining two or moreabsorbent layers having discontinuous absorbent material applicationpattern, wherein the resulting layer is substantially continuouslydistributed across the absorbent particulate polymer material area, asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2008/0312622A1 (Hundorf), forexample. The absorbent core 28 may comprise a first absorbent layer anda second absorbent layer. The first absorbent layer may comprise thefirst material 16 and a first layer 61 of absorbent material, which maybe 100% or less of SAP. The second absorbent layer may comprise thesecond material 16′ and a second layer 62 of absorbent material, whichmay also be 100% or less of SAP. The absorbent core 28 may also comprisea fibrous thermoplastic adhesive material 51 at least partially bondingeach layer of absorbent material 61, 62 to its respective material 16 or16′. This is illustrated in FIGS. 7-8, as an example, where the firstand second SAP layers have been applied as transversal stripes or “landareas” having the same width as the desired absorbent materialdeposition area on their respective substrate before being combined. Thestripes may comprise different amount of absorbent material (SAP) toprovide a profiled basis weight along the longitudinal axis of the core80. The first material 16 and the second material 16′ may form the corewrap.

The fibrous thermoplastic adhesive material 51 may be at least partiallyin contact with the absorbent material 61, 62 in the land areas and atleast partially in contact with the materials 16 and 16′ in the junctionareas. This imparts an essentially three-dimensional structure to thefibrous layer of thermoplastic adhesive material 51, which in itself isessentially a two-dimensional structure of relatively small thickness,as compared to the dimension in length and width directions. Thereby,the fibrous thermoplastic adhesive material may provide cavities tocover the absorbent material in the land area, and thereby immobilizesthis absorbent material, which may be 100% or less of SAP. Thethermoplastic adhesive material 51 may comprise, in its entirety, asingle thermoplastic polymer or a blend of thermoplastic polymers,having a softening point, as determined by the ASTM Method D-36-95 “Ringand Ball”, in the range between 50° C. and 300° C., and/or thethermoplastic adhesive material may be a hotmelt adhesive comprising atleast one thermoplastic polymer in combination with other thermoplasticdiluents such as tackifying resins, plasticizers and additives such asantioxidants.

The thermoplastic adhesive used for the fibrous layer may haveelastomeric properties, such that the web formed by the fibers on theSAP layer is able to be stretched as the SAP swell. Elastomeric,hot-melt adhesives of these types are described in more detail in U.S.Pat. No. 4,731,066 issued to Korpman on Mar. 15, 1988. The thermoplasticadhesive material may be applied as fibers.

Superabsorbent Polymer (SAP)

“Superabsorbent polymers” (“SAP”), as used herein, refer to absorbentmaterials which are cross-linked polymeric materials that can absorb atleast 10 times their weight of an aqueous 0.9% saline solution asmeasured using the Centrifuge Retention Capacity (CRC) test (EDANAmethod WSP 241.2-05E). The SAP used may have a CRC value of more than 20g/g, more than 24 g/g, from 20 to 50 g/g, from 20 to 40 g/g, or from 24to 30 g/g, specifically reciting all 0.1 g/g increments within theabove-specified ranges and any ranges created therein or thereby. TheSAP useful with the present disclosure may include a variety ofwater-insoluble, but water-swellable polymers capable of absorbing largequantities of fluids.

The superabsorbent polymer may be in particulate form so as to beflowable in the dry state. Particulate absorbent polymer materials maybe made of poly(meth)acrylic acid polymers. However, starch-basedparticulate absorbent polymer material may also be used, as wellpolyacrylamide copolymer, ethylene maleic anhydride copolymer,cross-linked carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinyl alcohol copolymers,cross-linked polyethylene oxide, and starch grafted copolymer ofpolyacrylonitrile. The superabsorbent polymer may be polyacrylates andpolyacrylic acid polymers that are internally and/or surfacecross-linked. Suitable materials are described in the PCT PatentApplication Nos. WO 07/047598, WO 07/046052, WO2009/155265, andWO2009/155264, for example. In some embodiments, suitable superabsorbentpolymer particles may be obtained by generally known productionprocesses as described in WO 2006/083584, for example.

The SAP useful for the present disclosure may be of numerous shapes. Theterm “particles” refers to granules, fibers, flakes, spheres, powders,platelets and other shapes and forms known to persons skilled in the artof superabsorbent polymer particles. In some embodiments, the SAPparticles may be in the shape of fibers, i.e., elongated, acicularsuperabsorbent polymer particles. In those embodiments, thesuperabsorbent polymer particles fibers may have a minor dimension(i.e., diameter of the fiber) of less than about 1 mm, usually less thanabout 500 μm, or less than 250 μm down to 50 μm, specifically recitingall 1 μm increments within the above-specified ranges and any rangesformed therein or thereby. The length of the fibers may be about 3 mm toabout 100 mm, specifically reciting all 1 mm increments within theabove-specified range and any ranges formed therein or thereby. Thefibers may also be in the form of a long filament that may be woven.

SAP may be spherical-like particles. In contrast to fibers,“spherical-like particles” have a longest and a smallest dimension witha particulate ratio of longest to smallest particle dimension in therange of 1-5, where a value of 1 would equate a perfectly sphericalparticle and 5 would allow for some deviation from such a sphericalparticle. The superabsorbent polymer particles may have a particle sizeof less than 850 μm, from 50 to 850 μm, from 100 to 710 μm, or from 150to 650 μm, specifically reciting all 1 μm increments within theabove-specified ranges and any ranges formed therein or thereby, asmeasured according to EDANA method WSP 220.2-05. SAP having a relativelylow particle size may help to increase the surface area of the absorbentmaterial which is in contact with liquid exudates and therefore supportsfast absorption of liquid exudates.

The SAP may have a particle size in the range from 45 μm to 4000 μm,more specifically a particle size distribution within the range of from45 μm to about 2000 μm, or from about 100 μm to about 1000, 850 or 600μm, specifically reciting all 1 μm increments within the above-specifiedranges and any ranges formed therein or thereby. The particle sizedistribution of a material in particulate form can be determined, forexample, by means of dry sieve analysis (EDANA 420.02 “Particle Sizedistribution). The surface of the SAP may be coated, for example, with acationic polymer. Certain cationic polymers may include polyamine orpolyimine materials. The absorbent core may comprise one or more typesof SAP.

For most absorbent articles, liquid discharges from a wearer occurpredominately in the front half of the absorbent article, in particularfor a diaper. The front half of the absorbent article (as defined by theregion between the front edge and the lateral axis 90) may thereforecomprise most of the absorbent capacity of the core). Thus, at least 60%of the SAP, or at least 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, or 85% of the SAP may bepresent in the front half of the absorbent article, the remaining SAPbeing disposed in the rear half of the absorbent article. In otherembodiments, the SAP distribution may be uniform through the core or mayhave other suitable distributions.

The total amount of SAP present in the absorbent core may also varyaccording to expected user. Diapers for newborns may require less SAPthan infant, child, or adult incontinence diapers. The amount of SAP inthe core may be about 5 to 60 g or from 5 to 50 g, specifically recitingall 0.1 increments within the specified ranges and any ranged formedtherein or thereby. The average SAP basis weight within the (or “atleast one”, if several are present) deposition area 8 of the SAP may beat least 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 or more g/m². The areas of thechannels (e.g., 27, 27′) present in the absorbent material depositionarea 8 are deduced from the absorbent material deposition area tocalculate this average basis weight.

Core Wrap

The core wrap may be made of a single substrate, material, or nonwovenfolded around the absorbent material, or may comprise two (or more)substrates, materials, or nonwovens which are attached to another.Typical attachments are the so-called C-wrap and/or sandwich wrap. In aC-wrap, as illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 2 and 7, the longitudinaland/or transversal edges of one of the substrates are folded over theother substrate to form flaps. These flaps are then bonded to theexternal surface of the other substrate, typically by gluing. Othertechniques may be used to form a core wrap. For example, thelongitudinal and/or transversal edges of the substrates may be bondedtogether and then folded underneath the absorbent core 28 and bonded inthat position.

The core wrap may be formed by any materials suitable for receiving andcontaining the absorbent material. Typical substrate materials used inthe production of conventional cores may be used, in particular paper,tissues, films, wovens or nonwovens, or laminates or composites of anyof these. The core wrap may be formed by a nonwoven web, such as acarded nonwoven, spunbond nonwoven (“S”) or meltblown nonwoven (“M”),and laminates of any of these. For example, spunmelt polypropylenenonwovens may be suitable, in particular those having a laminate webSMS, or SMMS, or SSMMS, structure, and having a basis weight range ofabout 5 gsm to about 15 gsm. Suitable materials are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 7,744,576, U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2011/0268932A1, U.S. Pat. Publ.No. 2011/0319848A1, and U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2011/0250413A1. Nonwovenmaterials provided from synthetic fibers may also be used, such as PE,PET, and/or PP, for example.

If the core wrap comprises a first substrate, nonwoven or material 16and a second substrate, nonwoven, or materials 16′ these may be made ofthe same type of material, may be made of different materials, or one ofthe substrates may be treated differently than the other to provide itwith different properties. As the polymers used for nonwoven productionare inherently hydrophobic, they may be coated with hydrophilic coatingsif placed on the fluid receiving side of the absorbent core. It may beadvantageous that the top side of the core wrap, i.e., the side placedcloser to the wearer in the absorbent article, be more hydrophilic thanthe bottom side of the core wrap. A possible way to produce nonwovenswith durably hydrophilic coatings is via applying a hydrophilic monomerand a radical polymerization initiator onto the nonwoven, and conductinga polymerization activated via UV light resulting in monomer chemicallybound to the surface of the nonwoven. An alternative possible way toproduce nonwovens with durably hydrophilic coatings is to coat thenonwoven with hydrophilic nanoparticles, e.g., as described in WO02/064877.

Permanently hydrophilic nonwovens are also useful in some embodiments.Surface tension, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,576 (Busam et al.),can be used to measure how permanently a certain hydrophilicity level isachieved. Liquid strike through, as described in U.S. Pat. No.7,744,576, may be used to measure the hydrophilicity level. The firstand/or second substrate may have a surface tension of at least 55, atleast 60, or at least 65 mN/m or higher when wetted with salinesolution. The substrate may also have a liquid strike through time ofless than 5 seconds for a fifth gush of liquid. These values can bemeasured using the test methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,576B2:“Determination Of Surface Tension” and “Determination of Strike Through”respectively.

Hydrophilicity and wettability are typically defined in terms of contactangle and the strike through time of the fluids, for example, through anonwoven fabric. This is discussed in detail in the American ChemicalSociety publication entitled “Contact angle, wettability and adhesion”,edited by Robert F. Gould (Copyright 1964). A substrate having a lowercontact angle between the water and the surface of substrate may be saidto be more hydrophilic than another.

The substrates may also be air-permeable. Films useful herein maytherefore comprise micro-pores. The substrate may have anair-permeability of from 40 or from 50, to 300 or to 200 m³/(m²×min), asdetermined by EDANA method 140-1-99 (125 Pa, 38.3 cm²). The material ofthe core wrap may alternatively have a lower air-permeability, e.g.,being non-air-permeable, for example, to facilitate handling on a movingsurface comprising vacuum.

The core wrap may be at least partially sealed along all the sides ofthe absorbent core so that substantially no absorbent material leaks outof the core. By “substantially no absorbent material” it is meant thatless than 5%, less than 2%, less than 1%, or about 0% by weight ofabsorbent material escape the core wrap. The term “seal” is to beunderstood in a broad sense. The seal does not need to be continuousalong the whole periphery of the core wrap but may be discontinuousalong part or the whole of it, such as formed by a series of seal pointsspaced on a line. A seal may be formed by gluing and/or thermal bonding.

If the core wrap is formed by two substrates 16, 16′, four seals may beused to enclose the absorbent material 60 within the core wrap. Forexample, a first substrate 16 may be placed on one side of the core (thetop side as represented in the Figures) and extend around the core'slongitudinal edges to at least partially wrap the opposed bottom side ofthe core. The second substrate 16′ may be present between the wrappedflaps of the first substrate 16 and the absorbent material 60. The flapsof the first substrate 16 may be glued to the second substrate 16′ toprovide a strong seal. This so called C-wrap construction may providebenefits such as improved resistance to bursting in a wet loaded statecompared to a sandwich seal. The front side and rear side of the corewrap may then also be sealed by gluing the first substrate and secondsubstrate to another to provide complete encapsulation of the absorbentmaterial across the whole of the periphery of the core. For the frontside and rear side of the core, the first and second substrates mayextend and may be joined together in a substantially planar direction,forming for these edges a so-called sandwich construction. In theso-called sandwich construction, the first and second substrates mayalso extend outwardly on all sides of the core and be sealed flat, orsubstantially flat, along the whole or parts of the periphery of thecore typically by gluing and/or heat/pressure bonding. In an embodiment,neither the first nor the second substrates need to be shaped, so thatthey can be rectangularly cut for ease of production but other shapesare within the scope of the present disclosure.

The core wrap may also be formed by a single substrate which may encloseas in a parcel wrap the absorbent material and be sealed along the frontside and rear side of the core and one longitudinal seal.

SAP Deposition Area

The absorbent material deposition area 8 may be defined by the peripheryof the layer formed by the absorbent material 60 within the core wrap,as seen from the top side of the absorbent core. The absorbent materialdeposition area 8 may have various shapes, in particular, a so-called“dog bone” or “hour-glass” shape, which shows a tapering along its widthtowards the middle or “crotch” region of the core. In this way, theabsorbent material deposition area 8 may have a relatively narrow widthin an area of the core intended to be placed in the crotch region of theabsorbent article, as illustrated in FIG. 1. This may provide betterwearing comfort. The absorbent material deposition area 8 may thus havea width (as measured in the transversal direction) at its narrowestpoint which is less than about 100 mm, 90 mm, 80 mm, 70 mm, 60 mm, oreven less than about 50 mm. This narrowest width may further be at least5 mm, or at least 10 mm, smaller than the width of the deposition area 8at its largest point in the front and/or rear regions deposition area 8.The absorbent material deposition area 8 may also be generallyrectangular, for example as shown in FIGS. 4-6, but other depositionareas, such as a “T,” “Y,” “hour-glass,” or “dog-bone” shapes are alsowithin the scope of the present disclosure.

The basis weight (amount deposited per unit of surface) of the SAP mayalso be varied along the deposition area 8 to create a profileddistribution of absorbent material, in particular SAP, in thelongitudinal direction, in the transversal direction, or both directionsof the core. Hence, along the longitudinal axis of the core, the basisweight of absorbent material may vary, as well as along the transversalaxis, or any axis parallel to any of these axes. The basis weight of SAPin areas of relatively high basis weight may thus be at least 10%, 20%,30%, 40%, or 50% higher than in an area of relatively low basis weight.In an embodiment, the SAP present in the absorbent material depositionarea 8 at the level of the crotch point C may have more SAP per unit ofsurface deposited as compared to another area of the absorbent materialdeposition area 8.

The absorbent material may be deposited using known techniques, whichmay allow relatively precise deposition of SAP at relatively high speed.In particular, the SAP printing technology as disclosed in U.S. Pat.Publ. No. 2008/0312617 and U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2010/0051166A1 (both toHundorf et al.) may be used. This technique uses a printing roll todeposit SAP onto a substrate disposed on a grid of a support which mayinclude a plurality of cross bars extending substantially parallel toand spaced from one another so as to form channels extending between theplurality of cross-bars. This technology allows high-speed and precisedeposition of SAP on a substrate. The channels of the absorbent core maybe formed for example by modifying the pattern of the grid and receivingdrums so that no SAP is applied in areas corresponding to the channels.EP application number 11169396.6 discloses this modification in moredetails.

Channels in the Absorbent Core

The absorbent material deposition area 8 may comprise at least onechannel 26, which is at least partially oriented in the longitudinaldirection of the absorbent article 80 (i.e., has a longitudinal vectorcomponent). Other channels may be at least partially oriented in thelateral direction (i.e., has a lateral vector component) or in any otherdirection. If the following, the plural form “channels” will be used tomean “at least one channel”. The channels may have a length L′ projectedon the longitudinal axis 80 of the absorbent article that is at least10% of the length L of the absorbent article. The channels may also becircular, oblong, or be in the shape of a variety of other closedpolygons. The channels may be formed in various ways. For example, thechannels may be formed by zones within the absorbent material depositionarea 8 which may be substantially free of, or free of, absorbentmaterial, in particular, SAP. In addition or alternatively, thechannel(s) may also be formed by continuously or discontinuously bondingthe top side of the core wrap to the bottom side of the core wrapthrough the absorbent material deposition area 8. The channels may becontinuous but it is also envisioned that the channels may beintermittent. The liquid management system 50, or another layer of theabsorbent article, may also comprise channels, which may or notcorrespond to the channels of the absorbent core, as described in moredetail below.

In some embodiments, the channels may be present at least at the samelongitudinal level as the crotch point C or the lateral axis 90 in theabsorbent article, as represented in FIG. 1 with the two longitudinallyextending channels 26, 26′. The channels may also extend from the crotchregion 7 or may be present in the front waist region 5 and/or in therear waist region 6 of the absorbent article.

The absorbent core 28 may also comprise more than two channels, forexample, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, or at least 6 or more.Shorter channels may also be present, for example in the rear waistregion 6 or the front waist region 5 of the core as represented by thepair of channels 27, 27′ in FIG. 1 towards the front of the absorbentarticle. The channels may comprise one or more pairs of channelssymmetrically arranged, or otherwise arranged relative to thelongitudinal axis 80.

The channels may be particularly useful in the absorbent core when theabsorbent material deposition area is rectangular, as the channels mayimprove the flexibility of the core to an extent that there is lessadvantage in using a non-rectangular (shaped) core. Of course channelsmay also be present in a layer of SAP having a shaped deposition area.

The channels may extend substantially longitudinally, which means thateach channel extends more in the longitudinal direction than in thetransverse direction, or at least twice as much in the longitudinaldirection than in the transverse direction (as measured after projectionon the respective axis). In other embodiments, the channels may extendsubstantially laterally, which means that each channel extends more inthe lateral direction than in the longitudinal direction, or at leasttwice as much in the transverse direction than in the longitudinaldirection (as measured after projection on the respective axis).

The channels may be completely oriented longitudinally and parallel tothe longitudinal axis or completely oriented transversely and parallelto the lateral axis, but also may be curved. In various embodiments,some or all of the channels, in particular the channels present in thecrotch region 7, may be concave towards the longitudinal axis 80, as,for example, represented in FIG. 1 for the pair of channels 26, 26′,such that they bend towards the longitudinal axis 80. The channels 26,26′ may also be convex, such they bend away from the longitudinal axis80, or have any other suitable arrangement. The radius of curvature maytypically be at least equal (and may be at least 1.5 or at least 2.0times this average transverse dimension) to the average transversedimension of the absorbent layer; and also straight but under an angleof (e.g., from 5°) up to 30°, up to 20°, up to 10° with a line parallelto the longitudinal axis. The radius of curvature may be constant for achannel, or may vary along its length. This may also include channelswith an angle therein, provided the angle between two parts of a channelis at least 120°, at least 150°; and in any of these cases, provided thelongitudinal extension of the channel is more than the transverseextension. The channels may also be branched. For example, a centralchannel superposed with the longitudinal axis in the crotch region 7which branches towards the rear waist edge 12 and/or towards the frontwaist edge 10 of the absorbent article.

In some embodiments, there may be a channel coincides with thelongitudinal axis 80 of the absorbent article or the core, while inother embodiments there may not be a channel that coincides with thelongitudinal axis 80. When present as symmetrical pairs relative to thelongitudinal axis 80, the channels may be spaced apart from one anotherover their whole longitudinal dimension. The smallest spacing distancemay be at least 5 mm, at least 10 mm, or at least 15 mm, for example.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the risk of fluid leakages, thelongitudinal main channels may not extend up to any of the edges of theabsorbent material deposition area 8, and may therefore be fullyencompassed within the absorbent material deposition area 8 of the core.The smallest distance between a channel and the closest edge of theabsorbent material deposition area 8 may be at least 5 mm.

The channels may have a width Wc1 along at least part of its lengthwhich is at least 2 mm, at least 3 mm, at least 4 mm, up to for example20 mm, 16 mm, or 12 mm, for example. The width of the channel may beconstant through substantially the whole length of the channel or mayvary along its length. When the channels are formed by absorbentmaterial-free zones within the absorbent material deposition area 8, thewidth of the channels is considered to be the width of the material-freezones, disregarding the possible presence of the core wrap within thechannels. If the channels are not formed by absorbent material-freezones, for example mainly through bonding of the core wrap through theabsorbent material zone, the width of the channels is the width of thisbonding.

At least some or all of the channels may be permanent channels, meaningtheir integrity is at least partially maintained both in the dry stateand in the wet state. Permanent channels may be obtained by provision ofone or more adhesive materials, for example, the fibrous layer ofadhesive material or construction glue that helps adhere a substratewith an absorbent material within the walls of the channel. Permanentchannels may also be formed by bonding the upper side and lower side ofthe core wrap (e.g., the first substrate 16 and the second substrate16′) and/or the topsheet 24 to the backsheet 25 together through thechannels. Typically, an adhesive may be used to bond both sides of thecore wrap or the topsheet and the a backsheet through the channels, butit is possible to bond via other known processes, such as pressurebonding, ultrasonic bonding, heat bonding, or combination thereof. Thecore wrap or the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25 may be continuouslybonded or intermittently bonded along the channels. The channels mayadvantageously remain or become visible at least through the topsheetand/or backsheet when the absorbent article is fully loaded with afluid. This may be obtained by making the channels substantially free ofSAP, so they will not swell, and sufficiently large so that they willnot close when wet. Furthermore, bonding the core wrap to itself or thetopsheet to the backsheet through the channels may be advantageous.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 1, the absorbent core 28 maycomprise at least three channels or four channels (e.g., 26, 26′, 27,27′). These channels may be free of, or substantially free of (e.g.,less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than1%), superabsorbent polymers and may be at least partially oriented inthe longitudinal direction and/or may be at least partially oriented inthe lateral direction. In various embodiments, the longitudinal lengthsof the channels 26 and 26′ about the longitudinal axis 80 may be thesame, substantially the same (e.g., within 2 mm or less of each other),or different and the longitudinal lengths of the channels 27 and 27′about the longitudinal axis 80 may be the same, substantially the same,or different. The longitudinal length of the channels 26 and 26′ may belarger than the longitudinal length of the channels 27 and 27′. Theaverage lateral width over the longitudinal lengths of the channels 27and 27′ may be the same, substantially the same, or may be different.Likewise, the average lateral width over the longitudinal lengths of thechannels 26 and 26′ may be the same, substantially the same, or may bedifferent. The average lateral width of any of the channels 26, 26′, 27,and 27′ may be the same, substantially the same, or different.

In some embodiments, in addition to the first and second channels 26 and26′, an absorbent core 28 may comprise a pocket (not shown) in thecrotch region 7 and/or the rear waist region 6 and one or more channelsin the rear waist region 6 and/or the crotch region 7. In anotherembodiment, a pocket may be in the crotch region 7 and/or the frontwaist region 5 and the one or more channels may be in the crotch region7 and/or the front waist region 5. The pocket and the one or morechannels may be BM pockets or channels and/or urine management pocketsand/or channels.

Barrier Leg Cuffs

The absorbent article may comprise a pair of barrier leg cuffs 34. Eachbarrier leg cuff may be formed by a piece of material which is bonded tothe absorbent article so it can extend upwards from the inner surface ofthe absorbent article and provide improved containment of liquids andother body exudates approximately at the junction of the torso and legsof the wearer. The barrier leg cuffs 34 are delimited by a proximal edge64 joined directly or indirectly to the topsheet 24 and/or the backsheet25 and a free terminal edge 66, which is intended to contact and form aseal with the wearer's skin. The barrier leg cuffs 34 extend at leastpartially between the front waist edge 10 and the rear waist edge 12 ofthe absorbent article on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis 80 andare at least present at the level of the crotch point (C) or crotchregion. The barrier leg cuffs 34 may be joined at the proximal edge 64with the chassis of the absorbent article by a bond 65 which may be madeby gluing, fusion bonding, or combination of other suitable bondingprocesses. The bond 65 at the proximal edge 64 may be continuous orintermittent. The bond 65 closest to the raised section of the leg cuffs34 delimits the proximal edge 64 of the standing up section of the legcuffs 34.

The barrier leg cuffs 34 may be integral with the topsheet 24 or thebacksheet 25 or may be a separate material joined to the absorbentarticle's chassis. The material of the barrier leg cuffs 34 may extendthrough the whole length of the diapers but may be “tack bonded” to thetopsheet 24 towards the front waist edge 10 and rear waist edge 12 ofthe absorbent article so that in these sections the barrier leg cuffmaterial remains flush with the topsheet 24.

Each barrier leg cuff 34 may comprise one, two or more elastic strandsor strips of film 35 close to this free terminal edge 66 to provide abetter seal.

In addition to the barrier leg cuffs 34, the absorbent article maycomprise gasketing cuffs 32, which are joined to the chassis of theabsorbent article, in particular to the topsheet 24 and/or the backsheet25 and are placed externally relative to the barrier leg cuffs 34. Thegasketing cuffs 32 may provide a better seal around the thighs of thewearer. Each gasketing leg cuff may comprise one or more elastic stringsor elastic elements in the chassis of the absorbent article between thetopsheet 24 and backsheet 25 in the area of the leg openings. All or aportion of the barrier leg and/or gasketing cuffs may be treated with alotion or skin care composition. The barrier leg cuffs may beconstructed in a number of different configurations, including thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Publ. No. 2012/0277713.

Fastening System

The absorbent article may include a fastening system. The fasteningsystem may be used to provide lateral tensions about the circumferenceof the absorbent article to hold the absorbent article on the wearer asis typical for taped diapers. This fastening system may not be necessaryfor training pant or pant-style articles since the waist region of thesearticles is already bonded. The fastening system may comprise a fastenersuch as tape tabs, hook and loop fastening components, interlockingfasteners such as tabs & slots, buckles, buttons, snaps, and/orhermaphroditic fastening components, although any other suitablefastening mechanisms are also within the scope of the presentdisclosure. A landing zone 44 is normally provided on the garment-facingsurface of the front waist region 5 for the fastener to be releasablyattached thereto.

The fastening system may also include primary and secondary fasteningsystems, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,622 to reduce shifting ofoverlapped portions or to improve fit as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,242,436, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,978, U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,736, and U.S.Pat. No. 5,591,152.

Front and Rear Ears

In an embodiment, the absorbent article may comprise front ears 46 andrear ears 40. The ears may be an integral part of the chassis, such asformed from the topsheet 24 and/or backsheet 25 as side panel.Alternatively, as represented on FIG. 1, the ears (46, 40) may beseparate elements attached by gluing, heat embossing, and/or pressurebonding. The rear ears 40 may be stretchable to facilitate theattachment of the tabs 42 to the landing zone 44 and maintain the tapeddiapers in place around the wearer's waist. The rear ears 40 may also beelastic or extensible to provide a more comfortable and contouring fitby initially conformably fitting the absorbent article to the wearer andsustaining this fit throughout the time of wear well past when absorbentarticle has been loaded with exudates since the elasticized ears allowthe sides of the absorbent article to expand and contract.

Elastic Waist Feature

The absorbent article may also comprise at least one elastic waistfeature (not represented) that helps to provide improved fit andcontainment. The elastic waist feature is generally intended toelastically expand and contract to dynamically fit the wearer's waist.The elastic waist feature may extend at least longitudinally outwardlyfrom at least one waist edge of the absorbent core 28 and generallyforms at least a portion of the end edge of the absorbent article.Disposable diapers may be constructed so as to have two elastic waistfeatures, one positioned in the front waist region and one positioned inthe rear waist region. The elastic waist feature may be constructed in anumber of different configurations including those described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,515,595; U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,189; U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092;U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,274; U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2012/0330262; U.S.Pat. App. Publ. No. 2012/0330263; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2012/0330264.

Relations Between the Layers

Typically, adjacent layers and components may be joined together usingconventional bonding methods, such as adhesive coating via slot coatingor spraying on the whole or part of the surface of the layer,thermo-bonding, pressure bonding, or combinations thereof. Bondingbetween the layers of the absorbent article may or may not be present.Bonding is not represented in the Figures (except for the bondingbetween the raised elements of the leg cuffs 34 with the topsheet 24)for clarity and readability. Adhesives may be used to improve theadhesion of the different layers between the backsheet 25 and the corewrap. The glue may be any suitable hotmelt glue known in the art.

If an acquisition layer 52 is present in the LMS 50, it may be desiredthat this acquisition layer is larger than or least as large as thedistribution layer 54 in the longitudinal and/or transversal dimension.Thus, the distribution layer 54 may be deposited on the acquisitionlayer 52. This simplifies handling, in particular if the acquisitionlayer is a nonwoven which may be unrolled from a roll of stock material.The distribution layer 54 may also be deposited directly on theabsorbent core's upper side of the core wrap or another layer of theabsorbent article. Also, having an acquisition layer 52 that is largerthan the distribution layer allows for direct gluing of the acquisitionlayer to the storage core (at the larger areas). This may provideincreased patch integrity and better liquid communication.

The absorbent core, and in particular its absorbent material depositionarea 8, may be at least as large and long and at least partially largerand/or longer than the liquid management system. This is because theabsorbent material in the core may more effectively retain fluid andprovide dryness benefits across a larger area than the LMS 50. Theabsorbent article may have a rectangular SAP layer and a non-rectangular(shaped) LMS 50. The absorbent article may also have a rectangular(non-shaped) LMS 50 and a rectangular layer of SAP.

Liquid Management System

The LMS 50 of the present disclosure may sometimes be referred to asacquisition-distribution system (“ADS”) or an acquisition system. Onefunction of the LMS 50 is to quickly acquire the fluid and distribute itto the absorbent core in an efficient manner. The LMS 50 may compriseone, two or more layers, which may form a unitary layer or may remain asdiscrete layers which may be attached to each other. In an embodiment,the LMS 50 may comprise two layers: a distribution layer 54 and anacquisition layer 52 disposed between the absorbent core and thetopsheet, but the present disclosure is not limited to this embodiment.

The LMS 50 may comprise SAP as this may slow the acquisition anddistribution of the fluid. In other embodiments, the LMS may besubstantially free (e.g., 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 99% free of) orcompletely free of SAP. The LMS may also comprise one or more of avariety of other suitable types of materials, such as opened-cell foam,air-laid fibers, or carded, resin bonded nonwoven materials, forexample. Suitable example LMSs are described in WO 2000/59430 (Daley),WO 95/10996 (Richards), U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,254 (McDowall), and WO02/067809 (Graef), for example. Any of the example LMSs 50 disclosedherein may be positioned in an absorbent article: (1) intermediate aliquid pervious material or topsheet or secondary topsheet and anabsorbent core; (2) intermediate an absorbent core and a liquidimpervious material or backsheet; (3) intermediate an absorbent core anda liquid distribution layer; (4) intermediate a liquid distributionlayer and a liquid impervious material or backsheet, or may be otherwiselocated within the absorbent article. In an embodiment, more than oneLMS 50 may be provided in an absorbent article. The one or more LMSs 50may be provided above and/or below one or more absorbent cores.

Distribution Layer

In certain embodiments, the LMS 50 may comprise a distribution layer 54.The distribution layer 54 may comprise at least 50% by weight ofcross-linked cellulose fibers, for example. The cross-linked cellulosicfibers may be crimped, twisted, or curled, or a combination thereofincluding crimped, twisted, and curled. This type of material isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Publ. No. 2008/0312622 A1 (Hundorf). Thecross-linked cellulosic fibers provide higher resilience and thereforehigher resistance to the first absorbent layer against the compressionin the product packaging or in use conditions, e.g., under baby weight.This provides the core with a higher void volume, permeability, andliquid absorption, and hence reduced leakage and improved dryness.

Example chemically cross-linked cellulosic fibers suitable for adistribution layer are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,791, U.S. Pat.No. 5,137,537, WO 9534329, or U.S. Pat. App. Publ. No. 2007/118087.Example cross-linking agents include polycarboxylic acids such as citricacid and/or polyacrylic acids such as acrylic acid and maleic acidcopolymers.

The distribution layer 54 comprising cross-linked cellulose fibers ofthe present disclosure may comprise other fibers, but this layer mayadvantageously comprise at least 50%, or 60%, or 70%, or 80%, or 90%, oreven up to 100%, by weight of the layer, of cross-linked cellulosefibers (including the cross-linking agents). Examples of such mixedlayer of cross-linked cellulose fibers may comprise about 70% by weightof chemically cross-linked cellulose fibers, about 10% by weightpolyester (PET) fibers, and about 20% by weight untreated pulp fibers.In another example, the layer of cross-linked cellulose fibers maycomprise about 70% by weight chemically cross-linked cellulose fibers,about 20% by weight lyocell fibers, and about 10% by weight PET fibers.In another example, the layer may comprise about 68% by weightchemically cross-linked cellulose fibers, about 16% by weight untreatedpulp fibers, and about 16% by weight PET fibers. In another example, thelayer of cross-linked cellulose fibers may comprise from about 90-100%by weight chemically cross-linked cellulose fibers.

The distribution layer 54 may be a material having a water retentionvalue of from 25 to 60 or from 30 to 45, measured as indicated in theprocedure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,537.

The distribution layer may typically have an average basis weight offrom 30 to 400 g/m² or from 100 to 300 g/m², specifically reciting all1.0 g/m² increments within the above-specified ranges and any rangesformed therein or thereby. The density of the distribution layer mayvary depending on the compression of the absorbent article, but may bebetween 0.03 to 0.15 g/cm3 or 0.08 to 0.10 g/cm3, specifically recitingall 1.0 g/cm3 increments within the above-specified ranges and anyranges formed therein or thereby, measured at 0.30 psi (2.07 kPa).

Acquisition Layer

In certain embodiments, the LMS 50 may alternatively or additionallycomprise an acquisition layer 52. In an embodiment, the acquisitionlayer 52 may be disposed, for example, between the distribution layer 54and the topsheet 24. The acquisition layer 52 may be or may comprise anon-woven material, such as an SMS or SMMS material, comprising aspunbonded, a melt-blown and a further spunbonded layer or alternativelya carded chemical-bonded nonwoven. In some embodiments, the acquisitionlayer 52 may comprise air or wet-laid cellulosic, cross-linkedcellulosic, or synthetic fibers, or blends thereof. In certainembodiments, the acquisition layer 52 may comprise a roll-stock web ofsynthetic fibers (which may be processed to increase void space, such asby solid state formation), or a combination of synthetic and cellulosicfibers, bonded together to form a highloft material. Alternatively, theacquisition layer 52 may comprise absorbent open cell foam. The nonwovenmaterial may be latex bonded. Example acquisition layers are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 7,786,341. Carded, resin-bonded nonwovens may be used,in particular where the fibers used are solid round or round hollow PETstaple fibers (50/50 or 40/60 mix of 6 denier and 9 denier fibers). Anexample binder is a butadiene/styrene latex. Nonwovens have theadvantage that they can be manufactured outside the converting line andstored and used as a roll of material. The acquisition layer 52 may bestabilized by a latex binder, for example a styrene-butadiene latexbinder (SB latex).

A further acquisition layer may be used in addition to a firstacquisition layer described above. For example, a tissue, nonwoven, orother layer may be placed between the first acquisition layer and thedistribution layer. The tissue may have enhanced capillaritydistribution properties compared to the acquisition layer describedabove. The tissue, nonwoven, or other layer and the first acquisitionlayer may be of the same size or may be of a different size. Forexample, the tissue, nonwoven, or other layer may extend further in therear of the absorbent article than the first acquisition layer. Anexample of hydrophilic tissue is a 13-15 gsm high wet strength made ofcellulose fibers from supplier Havix.

The composition used to form fibers for the base substrate of theacquisition layer 52 may comprise thermoplastic polymeric andnon-thermoplastic polymeric materials. The thermoplastic polymericmaterial must have rheological characteristics suitable for meltspinning. The molecular weight of the polymer must be sufficient toenable entanglement between polymer molecules and yet low enough to bemelt spinnable. For melt spinning, thermoplastic polymers have molecularweights below about 1,000,000 g/mol; from about 5,000 g/mol to about750,000 g/mol; from about 10,000 g/mol to about 500,000 g/mol; and fromabout 50,000 g/mol to about 400,000 g/mol. Unless specified elsewhere,the molecular weight indicated is the number average molecular weight.

The thermoplastic polymeric materials are able to solidify relativelyrapidly, preferably under extensional flow, and form a thermally stablefiber structure, as typically encountered in known processes such as aspin draw process for staple fibers or a spunbond continuous fiberprocess. Polymeric materials may comprise, but are not limited to,polypropylene and polypropylene copolymers, polyethylene andpolyethylene copolymers, polyester and polyester copolymers, polyamide,polyimide, polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoate, polyvinyl alcohol,ethylene vinyl alcohol, polyacrylates, and copolymers thereof andmixtures thereof. Other suitable polymeric materials includethermoplastic starch compositions as described in detail in U.S. Pat.App. Publ. No. 2003/0109605A1 and 2003/0091803. Other suitable polymericmaterials include ethylene acrylic acid, polyolefin carboxylic acidcopolymers, and combinations thereof. The polymers described in U.S.Pat. No. 6,746,766, U.S. Pat. No. 6,818,295, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,506and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 03/009,2343. Common thermoplasticpolymer fiber grade materials may be used, such as polyester basedresins, polypropylene based resins, polylactic acid based resin,polyhydroxyalkonoate based resin, and polyethylene based resin andcombination thereof. Some embodiments use polyester and polypropylenebased resins.

Nonlimiting examples of thermoplastic polymers suitable for use in thepresent disclosure include aliphatic polyesteramides; aliphaticpolyesters; aromatic polyesters including polyethylene terephthalates(PET) and copolymer (coPET), polybutylene terephthalates and copolymers;polytrimethylene terephthalates and copolymers; polypropyleneterephthalates and copolymers; polypropylene and propylene copolymers;polyethylene and polyethylene copolymers; aliphatic/aromaticcopolyesters; polycaprolactones; poly(hydroxyalkanoates) includingpoly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate),poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hexanoate), or other higherpoly(hydroxybutyrate-co-alkanoates) as referenced in U.S. Pat. No.5,498,692 to Noda; polyesters and polyurethanes derived from aliphaticpolyols (i.e., dialkanoyl polymers); polyamides; polyethylene/vinylalcohol copolymers; lactic acid polymers including lactic acidhomopolymers and lactic acid copolymers; lactide polymers includinglactide homopolymers and lactide copolymers; glycolide polymersincluding glycolide homopolymers and glycolide copolymers; and mixturesthereof. Additional examples include aliphatic polyesteramides,aliphatic polyesters, aliphatic/aromatic copolyesters, lactic acidpolymers, and lactide polymers.

Suitable lactic acid and lactide polymers include those homopolymers andcopolymers of lactic acid and/or lactide which have a weight averagemolecular weight generally ranging from about 10,000 g/mol to about600,000 g/mol; from about 30,000 g/mol to about 400,000 g/mol; or fromabout 50,000 g/mol to about 200,000 g/mol. An example of commerciallyavailable polylactic acid polymers includes a variety of polylacticacids that are available from the Chronopol Incorporation located inGolden, Colo., and the polylactides sold under the tradename EcoPLAÒ.Examples of suitable commercially available polylactic acid areNATUREWORKS from Cargill Dow and LACEA from Mitsui Chemical.Homopolymers or copolymers of poly lactic acid having a meltingtemperature from about 160° to about 175° C. may be used. Modified polylactic acid and different stereo configurations may also be used, suchas poly L-lactic acid and poly D,L-lactic acid with D-isomer levels upto 75%. Optional racemic combinations of D and L isomers to produce highmelting temperature PLA polymers may be used. These high meltingtemperature PL polymers are special PLA copolymers (with theunderstanding that the D-isomer and L-isomer are treated as differentstereo monomers) with melting temperatures above 180° C. These highmelting temperatures are achieved by special control of the crystallitedimensions to increase the average melting temperature.

Depending upon the specific polymer used, the process, and the final useof the fiber, more than one polymer may be desired. The polymers of thepresent disclosure are present in an amount to improve the mechanicalproperties of the fiber, the opacity of the fiber, optimize the fluidinteraction with the fiber, improve the processability of the melt, andimprove attenuation of the fiber. The selection and amount of thepolymer will also determine if the fiber is thermally bondable andaffect the softness and texture of the final product. The fibers of thepresent disclosure may comprise a single polymer, a blend of polymers,or be multicomponent fibers comprising more than one polymer. The fibersin the present disclosure are thermally bondable.

Multiconstituent blends may be desired. For example, blends ofpolyethylene and polypropylene (referred to hereafter as polymer alloys)can be mixed and spun using this technique. Another example would beblends of polyesters with different viscosities or monomer content.Multicomponent fibers can also be produced that contain differentiablechemical species in each component. Non-limiting examples would includea mixture of 25 melt flow rate (MFR) polypropylene with 50 MFRpolypropylene and 25 MFR homopolymer polypropylene with 25 MFR copolymerof polypropylene with ethylene as a comonomer.

The polymeric materials may have melting temperatures above 110° C.,above 130° C., above 145° C., above 160° C. or above 200° C. Polymerswith high glass transition temperatures may be desired. Glass transitiontemperatures in the end-use fiber form may be used that are above −10°C., which are above 0° C., which are above 20° C., or that are above 50°C. This combination of properties produces fibers that are stable atelevated temperatures. Examples of materials of this type arepolypropylene, polylactic acid based polymers, and polyesterterephthalate (PET) based polymer systems.

Channels in Liquid Management System

The LMS 50 of the absorbent article 20 may comprise channels that maygenerally enable better conformation of the absorbent article to thewearer's anatomy, leading to increased freedom-of-movement and reducedgapping. One or more of the channels of the LMS 50 may be configured towork in concert with various channels in the absorbent core 28, asdiscussed above. Furthermore, channels in the LMS 50 may also provideincreased void space to hold and distribute urine, feces or other bodyexudates within the absorbent article, leading to reduced leakage andskin contact. In some embodiments, channels in the LMS 50 may alsoprovide internal serviceable indicia, especially when highlighted viaphysical differences in texture, color and/or pattern, to facilitateachieving the correct alignment of the absorbent article on a wearer.Thus, such physical differences may be, for example, visually and/ortactilely noticeable.

Similar to the channels in the absorbent core 28, a channel in the LMS50 may be any region in a layer, or extending through more than onelayer, that has a substantially lower basis weight or thickness than thesurrounding material, as set forth in the definition of “channel” above.The channels in the LMS 50 may also serve to reduce the tension forcesto enable controlled bending and maintain the LMS 50 in close proximityto the absorbent core 28. Thus, the presence of channels in the LMS 50,which may or may not be aligned with any channels in an underlyingabsorbent core 28, may generally function as hinges to allow for a moreflexible composite structure. In some cases, for example, the channelsof the LMS 50 allow for the LMS 50 to move toward the absorbent core 28in a controlled bending arrangement, thereby limiting the separationbetween the LMS 50 and the absorbent core 28. Moreover, in certainembodiments, a channel in the LMS 50 may assist in the routing of fluidor other bodily exudates from one region of the absorbent article 20 toanother region of the absorbent article 20. Such routing may desirablyimprove the overall distribution of fluid through the absorbent article20 and may lead to increase in comfort, wearability, or longevity of thearticle.

For multi-layered LMSs, the channels may be present in one or morelayers of the LMS 50 and may vary in their dimensions in all threeplanes of reference. In an embodiment, the width of a given channel inthe LMS 50 may vary in the longitudinal direction (i.e., in a directionsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the absorbentarticle). A channel may also have a different width, length, and/orvolume in front of a lateral axis or lateral separation element of theabsorbent article than behind the lateral axis or lateral separationelement. The channels of the LMS 50 may have a range of widths, lengths,shapes, volumes, and patterns, similar to the channels described abovewith regard to the absorbent core 28.

In certain embodiments, a channel in the LMS 50 of the back portion ofan absorbent article may be referred to as a bowel movement “BM” channelor BM pocket and may be generally aligned with and overlapping thelongitudinal centerline in the back portion of the absorbent article ormay be otherwise located. A portion of the channel may be positioned inthe LMS 50 such that is generally aligns with the wearer's ischium andmay have a width in the range of about 10 mm to about 30 mm, forexample. Rearward of this location, the channel width may or may notincrease gradually or abruptly to about 25 mm to about 150 mm, forexample. In an embodiment, the width of the channel may decrease againas it approaches the rear waist region of the absorbent article. Thevolume of the channel may be in the range of about 10 cm³ to about 200cm³, for example. The ratio of the maximum channel width to the width atthe wearer's ischium may range from about 1.5 to about 15. In anembodiment, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 75%,at least about 80%, or at least about 85% of the total volume of all thechannels in the LMS may lie rearward of the lateral centerline. In anembodiment, at least about 60% to about 85% of the total volume of allthe channels in the LMS may lie rearward of the lateral centerline.

One or more channels in the LMS 50 may at least partially overlap, orfully overlap, a channel in the absorbent core 28, creating a deeperrecess in the overlapping regions. For embodiments where the LMS 50includes more than one layer, the layer closest to the absorbent core 28may include a channel. One or more layers in the structure, such as thetopsheet 24, an acquisition layer 52, distribution layer 54, or otherlayers, may be bonded to an element of the absorbent core 28 in thisregion to increase the depth of the combined channel. In an embodiment,the channel in the acquisition layer 52 of the LMS 50 and the channel inthe absorbent core 28 are coincident such that the channels arecompletely overlapping. In another embodiment, channels in the LMS andstorage layers have no overlapping area. Other embodiments have avertical overlap between the channels in the two layers that encompassthe intervening range such that they partially overlap. Example channelarrangements are described in more detail below with regard to FIGS.11-26.

In embodiments where the topsheet 24 includes apertures, the aperturesmay be fully or partially aligned or overlapping with at least onechannel in the LMS 50, whereas in other embodiments, the apertures maynot align with any channel in the LMS 50. In some embodiments, at leastone layer on or proximate to the garment-facing side and/or thewearer-side of the absorbent article 20 may include a pattern, image,color, or tint resulting in an increased visual distinctiveness of thechannel of the LMS 50 and serve as an internal serviceable indicia tofacilitate more accurate alignment of the absorbent article on thewearer during the application process.

Referring again to FIGS. 1-5, the LMS 50 in the illustrated exampleembodiment is shown defining two channels 49, 49′. The channels 49, 49′are at least partially oriented in the longitudinal direction of theabsorbent article 80 (i.e., has a longitudinal vector component). Otherchannels in the LMS may be at least partially oriented in the lateraldirection (i.e., has a lateral vector component) or in any otherdirection and the channels in the LMS 50 may be continuous orintermittent. Some channels in the LMS may be round, oblong, square,rectangular, triangular or any other suitable shape. The channels mayhave a length projected on the longitudinal axis 80 of the absorbentarticle that is at least 10% of the length L of the absorbent article.The channels may be formed in various ways. For example, the channelsmay be formed by zones within the LMS 50 which may be substantially freeof, or free of, acquisition or distribution material.

In some embodiments, the channels of the LMS 50 may be present at leastat the same longitudinal level as the crotch point C or the lateral axis90 in the absorbent article, as represented in FIG. 1 with the twolongitudinally extending channels 49, 49′. The channels may also extendfrom the crotch region 7 or may be present in the front waist region 5and/or in the rear waist region 6 of the absorbent article. In FIG. 1,the channels 49, 49′ are generally coincident with channels 26, 26′,with channels 26, 26′ having a longer length in the longitudinaldirection towards the front waist edge 10 of the absorbent article 20.

The LMS 50 may define any suitable number of channels, such as at leastone, more than two channels, at least three, at least four, at leastfive, or at least six or more. Shorter channels may also be present, forexample in the rear waist region 6 or the front waist region 5 of theLMS 50. The channels of the LMS 50 may comprise one or more pairs ofchannels symmetrically arranged, or otherwise arranged relative to thelongitudinal axis 80 and/or the lateral axis 90, or other transverseaxis.

The channels of the LMS 50 may extend substantially longitudinally,which means that each channel extends more in the longitudinal directionthan in the transverse direction, or at least twice as much in thelongitudinal direction than in the transverse direction (as measuredafter projection on the respective axis). In other embodiments, thechannels of the LMS 50 may extend substantially laterally, which meansthat each channel extends more in the lateral direction than in thelongitudinal direction, or at least twice as much in the transversedirection than in the longitudinal direction (as measured afterprojection on the respective axis).

Similar to the channels in the absorbent core, the channels of the LMS50 may be completely oriented longitudinally and parallel to thelongitudinal axis or completely oriented transversely and parallel tothe lateral axis, but also may be curved or have a combination of curvedand linear components. In various embodiments, some or all the channels,in particular the channels of the LMS 50 present in the crotch region 7,may be concave with respect to the longitudinal axis 80, as, forexample, represented in FIG. 1 for the pair of channels 49, 49′, suchthat they bend towards the longitudinal axis 80. The channels 49, 49′may also be convex, such they bend away from the longitudinal axis 80,or have any other suitable arrangement. The channels 49, 49 maygenerally align with the channels 26, 26′ in the absorbent core,although this disclosure is not so limited. The radius of curvature maytypically be at least equal (and may be at least 1.5 or at least 2.0times this average transverse dimension) to the average transversedimension of the absorbent layer; and also straight but under an angleof (e.g., from 5°) up to 30°, up to 20°, up to 10° with a line parallelto the longitudinal axis. The radius of curvature may be constant for achannel, or may vary along its length. This may also include channelswith an angle therein, provided the angle between two parts of a channelis at least 120°, at least 150°; and in any of these cases, provided thelongitudinal extension of the channel is more than the transverseextension. The channels of the LMS 50 may also be branched. For example,a central channel superposed with the longitudinal axis in the crotchregion 7 which branches towards the rear waist edge 12 and/or towardsthe front waist edge 10 of the absorbent article. In some embodiments,there is no channel in the LMS 50 that coincides with the longitudinalaxis 80 of the absorbent article. When present as symmetrical pairsrelative to the longitudinal axis 80, the channels may be spaced apartfrom one another over their whole longitudinal dimension. The smallestspacing distance may be at least 5 mm, at least 10 mm, or at least 15mm, for example.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the risk of fluid leakages, the channelsof the LMS 50 may therefore be fully encompassed within the LMS 50. Thesmallest distance between a channel and the closest edge of the LMS 50may be at least 5 mm.

The channels of the LMS 50 may have a width Wc2 (FIG. 1) along at leastpart of its length which is at least 2 mm, at least 3 mm, at least 4 mm,up to for example 20 mm, 16 mm, or 12 mm, for example. The width of thechannel may be constant through substantially the whole length of thechannel or may vary along its length. The channels of the LMS 50 mayhave similar or different widths Wc2 than the widths Wc1 of channelswithin the absorbent core 28. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1,while Wc1 is substantially equal to Wc2, the length of the channels inthe absorbent core 28 may exceed the length of the channels in the LMS50 such that the channels 26, 26′ extend closer to the front waist edge10. In other embodiments, however, the channels 49, 49′ may extendcloser to the front waist edge 10.

When the channels within the LMS 50 are formed by material-free zones,the width of the channels (Wc2) is considered to be the width of thematerial-free zone, disregarding the possible presence of the topsheet24, or other layers, within the channels. If the channels are formed byzones of reduced basis weight, the width of the channels may be thewidth of the zones of reduced basis weight.

At least some or all of the channels in the LMS 50 may be permanentchannels, meaning their integrity is at least partially maintained bothin the dry state and in the wet state. Permanent channels may beobtained by provision of one or more adhesive materials, for example,the fibrous layer of adhesive material or construction glue that helpsadhere a substrate with an absorbent material within the walls of thechannel. Permanent channels may also be formed by bonding the topsheet24 to the backsheet 25 together through a channel of the LMS 50.Typically, an adhesive may be used to bond the topsheet 24 and thebacksheet 25 through the channels, but it is possible to bond via otherknown processes, such as pressure bonding, ultrasonic bonding, heatbonding, or combination thereof. The topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25may be continuously bonded or intermittently bonded along or withinportions of or all of the channels. The channels may remain or becomevisible at least through the topsheet and/or backsheet when theabsorbent article is fully loaded with a fluid. In some embodiments,channels of the LMS 50 may align with channels of the absorbent core 28,such that the channels are visible through a garment-facing surface whenthey contain urine or feces or when a bodily exudate is at leastproximate to the channels (such as when a bodily exudate is on thetopsheet 24 but not yet within a channel). Such channels may provide avisual indication to a caregiver that the absorbent article should bechanged. In other embodiments, a graphical indicator or merely a graphicis printed on an outer surface or other layer of the absorbent articleproximate to, over, or partially over the channels to visually obscurethe bodily exudates contained within the channels.

In certain embodiments, an indicator may be included on one or more ofthe backsheet, a backsheet film, and/or a nonwoven dusting layer, forexample, to visually indicate when a change of the absorbent article isrequired. The indicator may be configured to switch states in thepresence of urine and/or feces. The indicator may be, for example, aline or graphic that changes from white or clear to blue. The indicatormay also be a word, such a “dry”, that disappears once urine is presentin the channels. The indicator may be the word “wet” that appears in thepresence of urine. Any other suitable indicator or a plurality ofindicators may also be utilized.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 1, the LMS 50 may comprise at leasttwo channels (e.g., 49, 49′). These channels may be free of, orsubstantially free of (e.g., less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 3%,less than 2%, or less than 1%), non-woven material or cross-linkedcellulose fibers and may be at least partially oriented in thelongitudinal direction and/or may be at least partially oriented in thelateral direction. In various embodiments, the longitudinal lengths ofthe channels 49 and 49′ about the longitudinal axis 80 may be the same,substantially the same (e.g., within 2 mm or less of each other), ordifferent and the longitudinal lengths of the channels 49 and 49′ aboutthe longitudinal axis 80 may be the same, substantially the same, ordifferent. The average lateral width over the longitudinal lengths ofthe channels 49 and 49′ may be the same, substantially the same, or maybe different.

The example LMS 50 of the absorbent article of FIGS. 4-5 is shown inisolation in FIGS. 9-10 where FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of theLMS 50 taken about line 10-10 of FIG. 9. The LMS 50 may comprises afront side 281, a rear side 283, and two longitudinal sides 285, 287joining the front side 281 and the rear side 283. The LMS 50 may alsocomprise a generally planar top side and a generally planar bottom side.The front side 281 of the LMS is the side of the LMS intended to beplaced towards the front waist edge 10 of the absorbent article. The LMS50 may have a longitudinal axis 80″ corresponding substantially to thelongitudinal axis 80 of the absorbent article, as seen from the top in aplanar view as in FIG. 1. The LMS 50 may comprise one or more layers. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the LMS 50 comprises a distribution layer 54and an acquisition layer 52 which cooperate to define the channels 49,49′. In other embodiments, less than all of the layers of the LMS 50 maydefine the channel such that at least one layer of the LMS 50 iscontinuous while another layer of the LMS 50 is discontinuous.

In certain embodiments, the LMS 50 may comprise a wrap or bag that issimilar to the core wrap described above that is configured to holdparticulates. In one example, the wrap may contain Functional AbsorbentMaterials (“FAM's”) that generally function as a wicking/acquisitionmaterial. In a particular embodiment, the FAM may comprise anopen-celled foam, in the form of a coherent web or sheet or inparticulate form, prepared from High Internal Phase Emulsions(hereinafter referred to as “HIPEs”), as illustrated in (U.S. Pat. No.5,331,015 (DesMarais et al.) issued Jul. 19, 1994, U.S. Pat. No.5,260,345 (DesMarais et al.) issued Nov. 9, 1993, U.S. Pat. No.5,268,224 (DesMarais et al.) issued Dec. 7, 1993, U.S. Pat. No.5,632,737 (Stone et al.) issued May 27, 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,207(Dyer et al.) issued Feb. 7, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,395 (Stone etal.) Jul. 28, 1998, U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,921 (Dyer et al.) issued Aug.18, 1998), (U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,634 (Dyer et al.) issued Jun. 23, 1998,U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,359 (Dyer et al.) issued May 19, 1998, and U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,291 (Dyer et al.) issued May 27, 1997), (Bhumgara, Z.Filtration & Separation 1995, March, 245-251; Walsh et al. J. AerosolSci. 1996, 27, 5629-5630; published PCT application W/O 97/37745,published on Oct. 16, 1997, in the name of Shell Oil Co.).

While portions of the channels 26, 26′ of the absorbent core 28 and thechannels 49, 49′ of the LMS 50 shown in FIGS. 1-10 are generallyaligned, this disclosure is not so limited. In fact, as is to beappreciated, particular arrangements of the channels in an LMS 50 and/oran absorbent core 28 may vary. FIGS. 11-26 are simplified partialcross-sectional views of example absorbent articles that illustrateexample configurations of the topsheet 24, the backsheet 25, the LMS 50and the absorbent core 28. While FIGS. 11-26 illustrate a wide varietyof channel arrangements, such arrangements are merely examplearrangements and are not to be limiting, as a number of other channelarrangements are within the scope of the present disclosure. Further,various aspects of some of the figures may be incorporated into thearrangements of other figures without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

Referring first to FIG. 11, an example channel arrangement isillustrated in which the LMS 50 defines a channel 49 and the absorbentcore 28 does not define any channels. It is noted that while the LMS 50is illustrated as a single-layer system in FIG. 11, among other figures,other embodiments may comprise a multi-layer LMS without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example channel arrangement in which thechannel 49 of the LMS 50 is generally aligned with the channel 26 of theabsorbent core 28. While the channel 49 and the channel 26 areillustrated as having similar widths, in other embodiments the widths ofthe two channels may differ. In some embodiments, for example, the widthof the channel 49 is wider or narrower than the width of the channel 26along the entire aligned portion in the longitudinal direction. In otherembodiments, the width of at least one of the channel 49 and the channel26 may vary along the longitudinal direction, such that at some pointsalong the overlapping portion, the channel 49 and the channel 26 havesimilar widths (as shown in FIG. 12), while at other points along theoverlapping portion, the channels have different widths. For example,the channel 49 may have the same width along its entire longitudinallength while the channel 26 may have portions that are tapered orflared, or vice versa. In some embodiments, the channel 49, or at leastportions of the channel 49, of the LMS 50 may not overlap the channel 26of the absorbent core 26. In such cases, the channel width of thechannel 49 may be the same or different as the channel width of thechannel 26. Additionally, the relative similarities or differences ofthe channel widths may vary along respective longitudinal lengths of thechannels 49, 26.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment in which a portion of the topsheet 24is recessed into the channel 49 defined by the LMS 50 and the channel 26defined by the absorbent core 26. In some embodiments, the topsheet 24is intermittently or continually bonded to the backsheet 25 along thechannel to form a recess or groove that is visible from thewearer-facing side of the absorbent article. An adhesive may be used tobond the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25 through the channels, althoughother known processes may be used to form the bond, such as pressurebonding, ultrasonic bonding, heat bonding, or combinations thereof.

FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment in which the topsheet 24 comprises acontoured element 24′ that generally aligns with the channel 49 definedby the LMS 50. The contoured element 24′ may be any suitablethree-dimensional structure, such as a groove, ridge, or other elementformed into the topsheet 24. In some embodiments the contoured element24′ of the topsheet 24 has a different thickness or basis weight thanother regions of the topsheet 24. In some embodiments, other layers ofthe absorbent article, such as the LMS 50 and/or the absorbent core 28additionally or alternatively comprise a three-dimensional structuregenerally aligned with a channel in the absorbent article. By way ofcomparison to FIG. 13, for example, the contoured element 24′ of FIG. 14does not necessarily have to be bonded to backsheet 25 to maintain itsrelative placement within the channel 49. In some embodiments, thecontoured element 24′ may be deeper than the illustrated example suchthat it is recessed into both the channel 49 and the channel 26. In anembodiment, both the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25 include counteredelements that are recessed into channel 26 and channel 49 of the LMS 50and the absorbent core 28, respectively.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment in which both the topsheet 24 and thebacksheet 25 are recessed into channels defined by the LMS 50 and theabsorbent core 28, respectively. Similar to the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 13, the topsheet 24 may be intermittently or continually bondedto the backsheet 25 along the channel. Any suitable technique orcombination of techniques may be used to bond the topsheet 24 and thebacksheet 25. Furthermore, while in the illustrated embodiment, thetopsheet 24 and backsheet 25 are bonded proximate to the interfacebetween the LMS 50 and the absorbent core 28, this disclosure is not solimited. In other words, in some embodiments, the topsheet 24 may berecessed further into the channels than the backsheet 25 or thebacksheet 25 may be recessed further into the channels than the topsheet24.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment in which the channel 49 and thechannel 26 are only partially aligned. In this embodiment, only aportion of the channel 49 overlaps with a portion of the channel 26.Such partially overlapping arrangement may continue along thelongitudinal direction. Alternatively, the channels 49 and the channel26 may become vertically aligned along the longitudinal direction or thechannels may laterally deviate in direction such that there is nooverlapping portion. An example configuration in which there is nooverlapping portion between the channel 49 and the channel 26 isillustrated in FIG. 17. FIG. 18 illustrates yet another embodiment inwhich each of the LMS 50 and the absorbent core 28 defines two channels,49, 49′, 26, 27. As illustrated, channel 49 and channel 26 do notoverlap with any other channels, while channel 49′ of the LMS 50overlaps, and in this case is completely aligned, with channel 27.

FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment with a multi-layer LMS 50 having afirst layer 50′ and a second layer 50″. In some embodiments, the firstlayer 50′ comprises a nonwoven material and the second layer 50″comprises cross-linked cellulose fibers. In the illustrated arrangement,the absorbent core 28 defines a channel 26 and various layers of the LMS50 collectively define a channel 49. The first layer 50′ is recessedinto both the channel 49 and the channel 26 and bonded to the backsheet25 thereby forming a void between the first layer 50′ and the topsheet24. FIG. 20 illustrates another embodiment with an LMS 50 having a firstlayer 50′ and a second layer 50″. In the illustrated arrangement, theabsorbent core 28 defines a channel 26 and an absence of both the firstlayer 50′ and the second layer 50″ LMS 50 defines a channel 49. In otherembodiments, one or more layers of the LMS 50 are not recessed into thechannel 49, or one or more layers of the LMS 50 are recessed into thechannel 49, but not into the channel 26.

FIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment of a multi-layer LMS 50 in which thefirst layer 50′ is cut and folded along the channel 49 to form a flap 63that extends along the longitudinal direction of the channel 49. Theflap 63 may be sandwiched between the first layer 50′ and the topsheet24 during the manufacturing of the absorbent article. Alternatively, theflap 63 may be folded downward toward the backsheet 25 such that it isreceived by the channel 49 and positioned along its wall. In someembodiments, flaps may be present on either lateral side of the channel49 which may be formed by slicing the first layer 50′ along thelongitudinal centerline of the channel 49 and then folding the flap toexpose the channel.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to provide a visual indicationof the channels. Such visual indication may be provided using anysuitable technique. FIG. 22 illustrates an embodiment comprising avisually distinct layer 67. In some embodiments, the visually distinctlayer 67 may be a layer on the garment-facing side of the LMS 50 thatincludes a pattern, image, color and/or tint that is different than thatof other layers in the LMS 50. The visually distinct layer 67 is visiblethrough at least one of the topsheet 24 and the backsheet 25 to providean increased visual distinctiveness of the channel 49. The increasedvisual distinctiveness may serve as an internal serviceable indicia tofacilitate more accurate alignment of the absorbent article on thewearer during the application process. FIG. 23 illustrates anotherexample embodiment having the visually distinct layer 67. In theillustrated embodiment the visually distinct layer 67 is positionedbetween the absorbent core 28 and the backsheet 25. The visuallydistinct layer 67 may also be provided at other locations within theabsorbent article.

In addition to the LMS 50 and the absorbent core 28, it may be desirableto include additional layers in the absorbent article, such as a liquiddistribution layer. FIGS. 24-26 illustrate embodiments comprising aliquid distribution layer 71 that comprises a liquid distributionmaterial. The liquid distribution material may a fibrous or foamedmaterial, for example. The liquid distribution layer 71 may bediscontinuous, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 26, or may be continuous, asshown in FIG. 25. Thus, the liquid distribution layer 71 may help todefine a channel within the absorbent article or may span a channeldefined by the LMS 50 and/or the absorbent core 28. Furthermore, theliquid distribution layer 71 may be positioned at any suitable layer ofthe absorbent article to achieve the desired liquid distribution. Asshown in FIGS. 24 and 25, for example, the liquid distribution layer 71is positioned between the absorbent core 28 and the backsheet 25. Bycomparison, in FIG. 26, the liquid distribution layer 71 is positionedbetween the LMS 50 and the absorbent core 28. In some embodiments, aliquid distribution layer may be positioned between the topsheet 24 andthe LMS 50. Some embodiments may have a plurality of liquid distributionlayers

Separation Element

In certain embodiments, a wearer-facing surface of an absorbent articlemay have a visual front portion and a visual back portion. The visualfront portion and the visual back portion may be separated by asubstantially laterally-extending separation element. The substantiallylaterally-extending separation element may be, for example, a graphicalindicia printed on a topsheet of the absorbent article, or other layerof the absorbent article, that is visible through the topsheet. In someembodiments, the substantially laterally-extending separation element isa portion of a tinted layer that is visible through the wearer-facingsurface. Additionally, the visual front portion may be visually distinctfrom the visual back portion based on a color difference and/or aprinted pattern difference. Such visual separation between the visualfront portion and the visual back portion may help for proper alignmentof the absorbent article during its application.

In some embodiments, the substantially laterally-extending separationelement comprises a structural separator that is located in the regionof the absorbent article generally corresponding to the perineal regionof the wearer (i.e., disposed between the urethra and the anus). Thestructural separator may, for example, limit the surface migration ofurine to the back of the absorbent article and feces to the front of theabsorbent article. A structural separator may include anythree-dimensional feature or component that functions as a transversebarrier (TVB), such as one or more projections above the wearer-facingsurface of the absorbent article, recesses below the plane of thewear-facing surface, and combinations thereof. One example includes alaterally-oriented web or sheet that is attached to the wearer-facingsurface of the absorbent article and the standing barrier leg cuffs.

The structural separator may be rectangular or square when laid out flatin a relaxed, contracted state onto an even horizontal surface. Thestructural separator may also be trapezoid when laid out flat in arelaxed, contracted state onto an even horizontal surface. Thestructural separator may be hydrophobic (e.g., it may be hydrophilic andmade hydrophobic with a hydrophobic surface coating, such as known inthe art, for example a wax or a hydrophobic surface coating comprisingone or more silicone polymers or fluorinated polymers.) In someembodiments, the structural separator may have an elastic behavior suchthat it can be significantly elastically extensible in a transversedirection or other direction. The structural separator may have acertain tension in use to ensure it forms an effective separator(barrier) with a Z-direction dimension, to avoid, or at least inhibit,migration of feces from the back to the front of the structuralseparator. Other embodiments of structural separators may include raisedor thicker portions of the topsheet, elements of the acquisition systemor absorbent core, separately applied elements, or holes or depressionsin one or more of the absorbent core elements.

The structural separator may have any suitable structure and may be aridge, bump, or flap, for example. The structural separator may beplaced along a lateral axis of an absorbent article or may be positionedat an angle that is oblique to the lateral axis. In some embodiments,the structural separator may be positioned generally parallel to achannel within the LMS to aid in the controlling the flow of urineand/or feces into that channel.

One or more structural separators may be incorporated into absorbentarticles having a variety of channel configurations, such as any ofembodiments illustrated above in FIGS. 11-26.

FIGS. 27-34 are partial cross-sectional views of the absorbent articlescomprising channels 49, 26 taken along a longitudinal axis thatillustrate example types of structural separators 73. Similar to FIGS.11-26, the absorbent articles of FIGS. 27-34 comprise a topsheet 24, abacksheet 25, and various configurations of the LMS 50 and the absorbentcore 28 that define various channels. The illustrated absorbent articlesalso each comprise a structural separator 73 that is a projection abovethe wearer-facing surface of the absorbent article. The structuralseparator 73 may comprise, for example, an elastic film, a nonwovensheet, a laminate of an elastic film and a nonwoven sheet material, apolyolefin film, or any other suitable materials. The nonwoven sheetmaterial of the laminate can be positioned such that it is in contactwith the skin of the wearer. Such a configuration of the laminate mayprovide more comfort to the wearer than when the elastic film isdirectly in contact with the skin of the wearer. Further, the structuralseparator 73 may be made of polyolefins known in the art, such aspolyethylene and/or polypropylene, made into fibers, includingbicomponent fibers that are then made into a nonwoven sheet. Thenonwoven sheet material may be a necked nonwoven. The nonwoven sheetmaterial may be a meltblown nonwoven or spunbond nonwoven or cardednonwoven. In some embodiments, it may be a laminate of spunbond orcarded layer or layers and meltblown nonwoven layer(s).

FIG. 27 illustrates an embodiment in which a structural separator 73 isbonded to a topsheet 24. The structural separator 73 is positionedbetween a front waist edge 10 (FIG. 1) of the absorbent article and achannel 49 defined by the LMS 50 and a channel 26 defined by theabsorbent core 28. The structural separator 73 may span and may bebonded to the barrier leg cuffs 34 (FIG. 1). The structural separator 73may limit the surface migration of urine and/or feces while helping todirect feces into the channels 49, 26. The structural separator 73 maycomprise a flange 79 to help prevent, or at least inhibit, the flow ofthe urine and/or feces across the structural separator 73. While FIG. 27illustrates channels on one side of the structural separator 73, otherembodiments may have channels on both sides of the structural separator73. FIG. 28 illustrates an embodiment comprising a liquid distributionlayer 71 positioned between the topsheet 24 and the LMS 50. In otherembodiments, the liquid distribution layer 71 may be positioned betweenthe LMS 50 and the absorbent core 28 and/or between the absorbent core28 and the backsheet. Additional details regarding the liquiddistribution layer are described above with regard to FIGS. 24-26. FIG.29 illustrates an example structural separator 73 that has a ridge-likeformation. The structural separator 73 is bonded to the topsheet 24 at afirst bond site 73′ and a second bond site 73″ to form a hump therebetween. In some embodiments, AGM, or other suitable material may becontained within the cavity defined by the topsheet 24 and thestructural separator 73. FIG. 30 illustrates another embodiment of thestructural separator 73. In this embodiment, the structural separator 73comprises a first flange 77 and a second flange 79 positioned along atop edge 85 of the structural separator 73. The first and second flanges77, 79 may serve to block, or at least inhibit, body exudates fromundesirably migrating along the wearer-facing surface.

While FIGS. 27-30 illustrate the structural separator 73 as a discretecomponent bonded to the topsheet 24 of the absorbent article, thisdisclosure is not so limited. FIG. 31 illustrates an example embodimentin which the structural separator 73 is a component of a layer that isbonded to the topsheet 24 such that a first portion of the layer isbonded to the topsheet 24 and a second portion extends upwards from thetopsheet 24 as a barrier. FIG. 32 illustrates an embodiment in which thetopsheet 24 is formed with the structural separator 73. In thisembodiment, the structural separator 73 has a ridge-like formation. Insuch an embodiment, the LMS 50, or portions thereof, or the core, orportions thereof may extend into the cavity defined by the ridge-likeformation. In some embodiments, the structural separator 73 comprises aplurality of layers. Referring now to FIG. 33, the structural separator73 is formed by a liquid distribution layer 71 and the topsheet 24. Inother embodiments, different layers of the absorbent article may be usedto form the structural separator 73, such as the topsheet 24 and atleast a portion of the LMS 50, for example. As is to be appreciated, astructural separator can be used with absorbent articles having avariety of channel types. FIG. 34 illustrates an absorbent article witha portion of the topsheet 24 recessed into the channel 49 defined by theLMS 50 and the channel 26 defined by the absorbent core 28. Thestructural separator 73 is positioned proximate to the channel 49 toassist in the control of urine and/or feces migration. Any of thestructural separators disclosed herein may be more stiff, rigid, or mayhave a greater thickness than, for example, the remainder of thetopsheet 24, such that the structural separators may maintain theirshape upon wetting or upon a force being applied thereto by a wearer.

In accordance with the present disclosure, absorbent articles maycomprise one or more channels in the LMS that have different physicalproperty values than other channels in the LMS. Example physicalproperties include the channel's width, length, orientation, volume,color, texture, area, or other physical properties. The absorbentarticle may have a visual front portion and a visual back portion thatare defined by a substantially laterally-extending, orlaterally-extending separation element. The substantiallylaterally-extending separation element may be a structure, such asstructural separator 73, or may be a graphical indicia that is printedonto the topsheet or otherwise visible through a wearer-facing surface.A channel positioned in the visual front portion may have a firstphysical property while a channel in the visual back portion may have asecond physical property. Some differences in physical properties of thechannels may be visible through the wearer-facing surface to aid thecaregiver in aligning the absorbent article in addition to providingdesired performance characteristics.

FIGS. 35-40 illustrate example differences in values of physicalproperties of one or more channels in the LMS located in a visual frontportion (identified as “F”) and the physical properties of one or morechannels in the LMS located in a visual back portion (identified as“B”). While the absorbent articles illustrated in FIGS. 35-40 arediapers, it is to be appreciated that other types of absorbent articles,such as training pants, adult incontinence products, sanitary napkins,and the like, may also comprises channels in the LMS that have differentphysical property values in the visual front portion and the visual backportion. Furthermore, only channels in the LMS are illustrated in FIGS.35-40 for the sake of clarity. Any channels in the absorbent core of theabsorbent articles are not illustrated. The absorbent articles shown inFIGS. 35-40 have been simplified for clarity and accordingly variouscomponents, such as barrier leg cuffs, have been omitted. Also, whilethe substantially laterally-extending separation element is illustratedas a structural separator 73 in FIGS. 35-40, this disclosure is not solimited. Other embodiments, for example, may use a graphical indicia orother non-structural separation element to provide a visual separationbetween the visual front portion and the visual back portion. In someembodiments, the substantially laterally-extending separation elementmay be a combination of a structural element and printed indicia ortinted layers. Additionally, the substantially laterally-extendingseparation element may have any suitable orientation or arrangement. InFIG. 35, for example, the substantially laterally-extending separationelement (illustrated as a structural separator 73) that is curved, whilein other embodiments, the structural separator 73 may be straight (FIG.40) or may be comprised of a plurality of linear components (FIG. 37) ornon-linear components, for example. Additionally, while thelaterally-extending separation element is illustrated as extendingacross the entire lateral width of the absorbent article, it is to beunderstood that in some embodiments the laterally-extending separationelement extends between the barrier leg cuffs.

Referring first to FIG. 35, the illustrated value of the physicalproperty of the channels in the LMS that differs in the visual frontportion (F) and the visual back portion (B) is the presence/absence ofthe channel. As shown, a channel 49 in the LMS is located in the visualback portion (B) of the absorbent article while the visual front portion(F) does not have a channel. FIG. 36 illustrates that the number ofchannels in the LMS in the visual front portion (F) can differ from thenumber of channels in the LMS in the visual back portion (B). As shown,two channels 49, 49′ are present in the visual front portion (F) andthree channels 49, 49′, 45 are present in the visual back portion (B).In the illustrated embodiment, channel 45 in the visual back portion (B)is sometimes called a pocket or a BM pocket. Such pocket in the LMS maygenerally align with a similar pocket positioned in the absorbent core.Generally, the BM pocket may be configured to host feces and limit itsspreading.

Referring now to FIG. 37, the area of the channels in the visual frontportion (F) differ from the area of the channels in the visual backportion (B). As illustrated, the area of channels 49, 49′ is less thanthe area of channels 45, 45′. In other embodiments, the area of thechannels in the visual front portion (F) may be more than the area ofthe channels in the visual back portion. Similarly, in some embodiments,the size of the channels may vary such that the visually larger channelis positioned in one of the visual front portion (F) and the visual backportion (B). Some embodiments may have a plurality of channels in eitherthe visual front portion, the visual back portion, or a plurality ofchannels in both portions. A total lateral width of the channels may bemeasured at a point along the longitudinal axis of the absorbent articleby measuring the width of all of the channels at that point andcumulating the widths to determine a total lateral width at that point.By way of example, if an LMS defines three channels at a point along thelongitudinal axis, with each channel having a width of 0.25 inches, thetotal lateral width would be 0.75 inches. The total lateral width of aplurality of channels at a point along the longitudinal axis in thevisual front portion (F) may be different than the total lateral widthof a plurality of channels at a point along the longitudinal axis in thevisual back portion (B).

FIG. 38 illustrates that the color of a channel may be different in thevisual front portion (F) than the visual back portion (B). As shown,channels 49, 49′ span both the visual front portion (F) and the visualback portion (B). The portion of the channels 49, 49′ positioned in thevisual back portion (B), illustrated as portion 43, is colored. In someembodiments, the portion 43 of the channels 49, 49′ are colored using atinted layer, as illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23, for example. FIG. 39illustrates an embodiment in which a texture of channels in the visualfront portion (F) different from the texture of the channels in thevisual back portion (B). As shown, the portion 41 of the channels 49,49′ comprise a texture that is different from the texture from theportion of the channels 49, 49′ in the front visual portion (F). Thetexture of the portion 41 may be, for example, knurled, ribbed, ordimpled.

FIG. 40 illustrates that the physical orientation of the channelspresent in the front visual portion (F) may differ from the physicalorientation of the channels in the visual back portion (B). As shownvisual front portion (F) has three channels 49, 49′, 49″ and visual backportion (B) comprises channels 45, 45′, 45′. While the number and areaof the channels in the visual front portion (F) is the same as thenumber and area of the channels in the visual back portion (B), thephysical orientation differ. Specifically, channels 49, 49′, 49′ extendin a substantially lateral direction while channels 45, 45′, 45′ extendin a substantially longitudinal direction.

In other embodiments, there may be other physical differences in thevisual front portion (F) and the visual back portion (B). For example,the number of layers in the visual front portion (F) may differ from thenumber of layers in the visual back portion (B). Thus, in the frontportion a channel may be defined by two layers, while in the rearportion it is defined by three layers. The shape, curvature, or depth ofthe channels, and/or the number of layers defining the channels in thevisual front portion (F) may differ than the channels in the visual backportion (B). For example, the visual front portion (F) may have a seriesof channels that generally extend in a lateral direction across thevisual front portion (F) and the visual back portion (B) may have asingle circular channel.

Sanitary Napkin Features

Referring to FIG. 41, an absorbent article may be a sanitary napkin3010. The sanitary napkin 3010 may comprise a liquid permeable topsheet3014, a liquid impermeable, or substantially liquid impermeable,backsheet 3016, and an absorbent core 3018. The absorbent core 3018 mayhave any or all of the features described herein with respect to theabsorbent core 28 and, in some embodiments, may have a secondarytopsheet 3019 (STS) instead of the liquid management system disclosedabove. The STS 3019 may comprise one or more channels, as describedabove. In some embodiments, channels in the STS 3019 may be aligned withchannels in the absorbent core 3018. The sanitary napkin 3010 may alsocomprise wings 3020 extending outwardly with respect to a longitudinalaxis 3080 of the sanitary napkin 3010. The sanitary napkin 3010 may alsocomprise a lateral axis 3090. The wings 3020 may be joined to thetopsheet 3014, the backsheet 3016, and/or the absorbent core 3018. Thesanitary napkin 3010 may also comprise a front edge 3022, a rear edge3024 longitudinally opposing the front edge 3022, a first side edge3026, and a second side edge 3028 longitudinally opposing the first sideedge 3026. The longitudinal axis 3080 may extend from a midpoint of thefront edge 3022 to a midpoint of the rear edge 3024. The lateral axis3090 may extend from a midpoint of the first side edge 3028 to amidpoint of the second side edge 3028. The sanitary napkin 3010 may alsobe provided with additional features commonly found in sanitary napkinsas is known in the art.

Method of Making the Article

The absorbent articles (e.g., diapers, sanitary napkins, training pants,etc.) of the present disclosure may be made by any suitable methodsknown in the art. In particular, the absorbent articles may be hand-madeor industrially produced at high speed. In some embodiments, thechannels described herein may be created by punching, die cutting,slitting, or spreading the associated layer. In one examplemanufacturing process a drum is provided having a protrusion. A layer ofair-laid fibers are deposited on the surface of the drum and fibersabove the protrusion are removed and deposited in the surrounding area.In an embodiment, a rotating scarfing roll is used to remove the fibers.In another example embodiments, a channel in a rollstock acquisitionlayer material, such as a wet-laid cellulosic web or a nonwovenhighloft, may be created by punching/die cutting or slitting andspreading. In an embodiment, a shape is cut to form a flap of materialand the flap of material is folded back onto another portion of the web.An example embodiment utilizing flap-type construction is describedabove with regard to FIG. 23. If desired, the folded flap may be bondedto maintain its relative position. The shape may be, for example, a “U”shape or less than all the sides of a closed polygon shape.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation ofany document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect toany embodiment disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in anycombination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests ordiscloses any such embodiment. Further, to the extent that any meaningor definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning ordefinition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, themeaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shallgovern.

While particular embodiments of the present disclosure have beenillustrated and described, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It istherefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An absorbent article comprising: a liquid permeable material; a liquid impermeable material; an absorbent core disposed at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and the liquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material, wherein the absorbent material comprises at least 85% of superabsorbent polymers by weight of the absorbent material, and wherein the absorbent core defines a first channel substantially free of the superabsorbent polymers; and a liquid management system positioned at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and the absorbent core, wherein the liquid management system is free of any superabsorbent polymers, wherein the liquid management system defines a second channel defined therein, and wherein a portion of the liquid permeable material is recessed into the second channel.
 2. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the portion of the liquid permeable material is recessed into the first channel.
 3. The absorbent article of claim 2, wherein the portion of the liquid permeable material recessed into the first channel is a contoured element formed into the liquid permeable material.
 4. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the first channel does not overlap the second channel.
 5. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the first channel partially overlaps at least a portion of the second channel.
 6. The absorbent article of claim 1, comprising a liquid distribution material, wherein the liquid distribution material is positioned intermediate the absorbent core and the liquid impermeable material.
 7. The absorbent article of claim 1, comprising a liquid distribution material, wherein the liquid distribution material is positioned intermediate the liquid management system and the absorbent core.
 8. The absorbent article of claim 1, comprising a liquid distribution material, wherein the liquid distribution material is positioned intermediate the liquid permeable material and the liquid management system.
 9. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the liquid permeable material defines a plurality of apertures.
 10. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the liquid management system defines a third channel, wherein the absorbent article has a front region and a rear region defined by a lateral axis, and wherein the second channel and the third channel are positioned in the rear region.
 11. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein a portion of the liquid impermeable material is joined to the portion of the liquid permeable material within the second channel.
 12. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the liquid management system comprises more than one layer, and wherein one of the layers comprises cross-linked cellulose fibers.
 13. An absorbent article comprising: a liquid permeable material; a liquid impermeable material; an absorbent core disposed at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and the liquid impermeable material and comprising an absorbent material, wherein the absorbent material comprises at least 85% of superabsorbent polymers by weight of the absorbent material, and wherein the absorbent core defines a first channel substantially free of the superabsorbent polymers; a first material positioned at least partially intermediate the liquid permeable material and the absorbent core, wherein the first material is substantially free of any superabsorbent polymers; and a second material positioned at least partially intermediate the first material and the absorbent core, wherein the second material is substantially free of any superabsorbent polymers, and wherein the second material defines a second channel; wherein a portion of the first material is recessed into the second channel.
 14. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the portion of the first material is recessed into the first channel.
 15. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the first channel substantially overlaps the second channel.
 16. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the first material has a first color and the second material has a second color, and wherein the first color and the second color are different.
 17. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein a portion of the liquid permeable material is recessed into the second channel.
 18. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein a portion of the liquid impermeable material is recessed into the first channel.
 19. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the second material comprises cross-linked cellulose fibers.
 20. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the second material comprises wet-laid cellulosic material.
 21. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the first material comprises a carded, resin bonded, nonwoven material.
 22. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the first material is at least partially joined to the liquid impermeable material within the first or second channel.
 23. The absorbent article of claim 13, wherein the second material comprises an open-celled foam. 